Thorns of a Rose
by deeply-immortal
Summary: After an accident, Drew invites May to travel with him so he can protect her. But just as they were starting to get to understand one another, May gets kidnapped, and Drew starts on his journey to rescue her... Complete - now with epilogue!
1. Prologue: Meaning of a Rose

**This prologue just has nothing to do with anything but I felt like it was kinda important to put in here anyway. So yeah…**

**And just to let you know…I don't own Pokémon. If I did, I'd throw a party with chocolate cake. It would be AWSOME! And if I _did _own Pokémon, Gary and Misty would've never left, Max would not exist, and I'd make contestshipping and pokeshipping happen faster than you can say, "Sounds liken a plan!".

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**Prologue: Meaning of a Rose**

It's interesting.

Interesting how something as powerful and big as love, can somehow focus all of its energy into a tiny flower.

A rose to be exact.

A rose is just love taking the form of a flower so it can be seen by mortal eyes.

It makes you wonder why they picked a rose, though.

But then again, you have to admit, a rose is beautiful.

It smells beautiful, it looks beautiful, its name is beautiful, and its meaning is beautiful.

There's something else about it that makes me think though.

Why a red rose?

What makes red roses so much more romantic than any other color rose?

Think about it.

Red is the color of death, war, and blood.

But it's still more romantic than a white rose, which is the color of light, or a yellow rose, the color of the sun.

I guess it's just more appealing.

When someone gives someone else a rose, it means that person is very special to them, and that they care deeply for them.

But roses aren't just pretty.

They have thorns.

Thorns that if your not careful enough, can pierce into your flesh and cause you to hurt and bleed.

Since roses and love are so connected to one another, do you think it's the same basic principle for love as well?

Do you think that love is a beautiful thing, but if you're careless, it can pierce right into your heart?

It's weird how love works like that.

It's unpredictable.

Even when you have found love, you end up taking it for granite, weather you realize it or not.

But then again, you never really notice how much something means to you…

…Until it's gone.

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**Ok yeah please Read and Review. Flames would be nice. I love flames. **


	2. Going Their Seperate Ways

**Alright everyone! Here's chapter one! Yay!**

**I don't own pokémon...Depressing, huh? Maybe I'll see if Nintendo will give it to me for Christmas.

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**Chapter One: Going Their separate Ways**

Ash and his friends had just completed their journey in the Kanto region. Ash had collected all of the frontier symbols and was even offered to be a brain, but he declined. Ash could never give up his journey that easily. May on the other hand had successfully gotten all five of her ribbons and got first place in the grand festival, earning herself the ribbon cup. Now they were all ready to start a new adventure, competing and making new friends along the way.

The sun was high in the sky, and the air smelt fresh. Pidgy chirped happily as they flew by, and Sandshrew quickly scurried into tunnels they had formed when company got to close. Our heroes were walking down a dirt road that was currently leading them to their next destination.

"So….." Max started breaking the silence. "Where are we going now?"

Brock took out his guide book and began looking through the pages. "Well…We could go to Shinou." he suggested.

"Shinou?" Ash asked cocking his head.

"Yeah…It says here that they're holding a tournament, and you have to collect eight badges to enter."

"A tournament, eh?" Ash repeated sounding a lot more interested.

Brock nodded. "Uh-huh. Also, there's a grand festival being held." he said glancing at May.

May hadn't been listening. She was deep and thought and she wasn't even looking at what was ahead of her.

"_May_?" Brock repeated nudging May with his shoulder.

May snapped out of the trace she was in. "Huh? What?" she asked slightly confused.

"I said they're holding a grand festival in Shinou." Brock repeated crossing his arms.

"Oh…Great!" she said trying her best to sound enthusiastic.

"Is there something wrong May?" Max asked looking up at his older sister.

May forced herself to smile. "Nothing's wrong!" she exclaimed. "I'm fine! I swear!"

Max looked at May suspiciously but just merely shrugged at looked back at his other two companions. "Well…" he said taking out his pokénav, "Shinou isn't that far from here. It should only take a couple of days to reach."

Brock looked at Ash. "Well Ash? What do you think?"

Ash smiled. "Let's see…There's a tournament being held…And I'm a pokemon trainer…" he said balancing his two statements with his hands. "So _logically_, it would only make sense for me to go there!"

Max chuckled. "Since when do you listen to logic, Ash?"

Ash shot a glare at the eight year old kid. "Since…A long time ago! Before I met you! That's when."

"Like what?"

"Um…Like the time I was traveling to Saffron City and I used my amazing logic to get us safely out of the forest and into the city! I mean, after Misty got us lost and all…"

Brock smirked. "If I remember correctly Ash…_You _got us lost, and then you and Misty fought for 20 minutes about mirrors, and then some weird little girl shows up and you follow her out of the forest." He paused for a moment. "That is, after you had fallen off that cliff."

Ash said nothing and hid his face under his hat. "You don't have to rub it in…" he muttered to himself.

Max laughed. "That sounds funny! You should tell me more of your old traveling stories!" he said excitedly. "You must have been through lots of action and adventure!"

Brock smirked. "Don't forget about romance!"

Max cocked his head. "Romance?"

"Yeah! You see-"

"Oh it's nothing!" Ash chuckled nervously while keeping his hand tightly over Brock's mouth. "Just more of Brock's sad stories of rejection!"

Max just stood there confused. "Ok…" Then he turned to his sister May who seemed to be back in her trance. "Hey May? You in there?" he asked waving his hand in front of her face.

May blinked a couple of times and turned her attention to Max. "What now?" she asked a little irritated.

"What's your problem May? Aren't you excited to start entering contests in Shinou?" Ash asked patting his Pikachu on the head.

"Shinou?" May asked who started to panic. "You mean we're actually _going _there?"

"Um…Didn't you here that whole conversation we just had a few minutes ago?" Brock asked.

"Um…No…" She whispered quietly.

"Well we're going." Ash stated.

May frowned and looked back down at the ground.

"Aren't you excited?" Max asked.

May continued to say nothing and simply shrugged.

The three boys cocked their heads. "What's on your mind?" Brock asked a little more concerned now.

May had actually been thinking about the after party at the Kanto grand festival, where she last saw Drew.

**FLASH BACK**

_May had been walking around the crowded party, hoping to find a certain green-haired coordinator. _

_After searching for a little while, she figured that he must be outside training like he always is. _

'_I don't know how he's able to just ignore a huge party like this just to train! I mean…I was hoping that maybe he would at least stick around to congratulate me…' May sighed at the thought and made her way outside. _

_May had just competed in the grand festival getting first place, earning herself her very own ribbon cup. When she was handed the cup on stage she had felt emotions of joy, excitement-It was just too great to explain in words. But as soon as she looked out into the crowd and saw he wasn't even there…Well, it crushed her. _

_May gave up looking for him after a while and just sat on a near by bench to think. But she soon lost her train of thought when she was interrupted._

"_Excuse me miss. Is this seat taken?" a boy asked._

_May didn't really hear him, but she knew he said something about sitting down so she nodded implying that he could sit if he wanted to._

_The man smiled and took a seat next to May. "So…" he started. "How are you?"_

_May shrugged. "Not bad…" she lied. _

"_Really? You look kind of sad to me…" _

_May took this moment to actually look at who was sitting next to her. "D-Drew?" she asked looking at the green –haired coordinator in surprise._

_Drew flipped his hair. "Who did think it was? The pizza man?" he asked smirking._

"_No! It's just, I was deep in thought and I didn't pay attention to who you were…That's all." May said in her defense._

"_About…?" Drew asked arching his eyebrow._

"_Huh?"_

"_What were you thinking about?"_

_May blushed slightly. "Oh…Nothing of your concern."_

_Drew frowned and turned his attention to the sky. "I guess not…"_

_There was a long silence and May became a little uncomfortable. _

"_So…" she said trying to break the silence. "Where are you off to next?"_

_Drew looked back at May. "Johto." he said simply._

"_Johto?" she asked,_

_Drew nodded. "Yeah. They're holding a grand festival there so I figured I'd enter." he said. _

_May smiled. "Sounds interesting."_

"_In fact…" he said looking her in the eye. "I look forward to seeing you there."_

"_What? You do?" May asked a little surprised._

_Drew chuckled. "Of course."_

_May blushed slightly but luckily to her benefit it was too dark to notice. _

_Drew turned his attention towards the sky again. "I should probably get going." he said getting up._

"_Probably…" May said softly._

"_And by the way," Drew said handing May a rose. "Congratulations."_

_May smiled and accepted the rose. "Thanks Drew…" _

_Drew flipped his hair. "No problem." he said walking away. _

_May looked at the rose in her hand and smiled. 'Johto…' she thought to herself. _

**END FLASHBACK**

"Well…?" asked Max.

"Wha?" May asked.

"What's on your mind?!"

"Nothing! Now be quiet!"

Max frowned and just looked ahead. "No need to shout…" he muttered to himself.

After a little while longer of walking, Ash, Brock, Max and May came to a fork in the road. The three boys began to walk right, but May didn't budge an inch.

"What's wrong _now?_" Max asked looking back at his sister.

May said nothing and looked away from the others. "I'm not coming with you…" she said quietly.

Max laughed. "Good one, sis!"

"Yeah come on May! We need to get to Shinou ASAP!" Ash said smiling.

May looked at them firmly. "I said I'm _not _going with you guys."

"Stop fooling around May! We need to-"

"Hold on." Brock said cutting Max off. "I think she means it."

"Huh?" Max asked looking back at over at May. "You sure?"

Brock nodded. "I am."

"What's the matter? Don't you want to collect ribbons anymore?" Ash asked with concern.

May smiled slightly. "Of course I do…" she said looking back at the sky. "It's just…Not with you."

"What?" Max asked. "W-Why?"

May tried her best to hold back tears. "It's just…Well…" May said as she tried to think of a reason why she would leave them. I mean, she couldn't tell them it was just so she could be with Drew… "Well…I thought about it a lot and…I think I'm old enough to travel by myself. I feel like I can take care of myself now."

Brock stared at May. "What? Are you sure you can handle that?"

May looked at the ground and nodded. "Yeah…I mean, Brock," she said looking at him, "You have taught me everything I could ever hope to learn about food, and Ash," she said now turning her attention to the black-haired boy, "You have taught me how to stick up for myself and how to never give up, and Max," she said looking down at her brother, "You have given me everything else I could ever ask from you."

Max smiled and looked at May. "Thanks, sis…" he said.

May returned the smile and hugged Max. "You're welcome…"

"So…I guess you're really leaving, huh?" Ash asked sadly.

May nodded slowly. "I guess so..."

Brock smiled and held out his hand. "Well, it was a pleasure to have met you May. Good luck." he said.

May smiled and took his hand shaking it. "Thanks Brock."

"Just do your best and you'll beat 'em all!" Ash assured her.

"Pika!" Pikachu said, electricity sparking from its cheeks.

May perked up. "You can count on that!"

May smiled one last time. "Well…Good bye guys…" she said turning her back to them.

"Good bye…" Max said.

"See yeah around…" Ash said.

"Good luck." Brock said.

May began to walk away, when Max called her.

"Wait!" he shouted.

May stopped but didn't look back.

"Where are you going?"

"Johto…" she replied softly. Then she started to walk again, and soon, she was completely out of sight.

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**Well...In the next chapter there's going to be a pokémon contest! And guess what? May's entering! Bet you didn't see that coming! And Harley and Drew are going to be there too! Wee! So yeah, read and review¿Por favor?**


	3. Mixed Emotions

**Ok I lied. The contest is going to be in the _next _chapter. So there. Anyways I'm sorry I havn't updated in a while... I've had a lot of school work and crap so I don't have much time to write. Lo siento.**

**Can you believe it?! I didn't get pokémon for Christmas! The nerve of those Japanese people!****

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**Chapter Two: Mixed Emotions**

"Finally, I'm here!" May cried happily as she looked down upon Violet city. "I better get to the pokémon center right away!"

After entering the city, May began to walk around, taking in all of the sights before making her way over to the pokémon center.

There were lots of buildings and little stores covering the streets. Also, there were lots of people walking by, many of them would stop to admire something, or just stop to talk to a familiar face when one passed by. Little kids kept walking up to store windows hoping to get their mothers to take them in to buy a toy of some-sort. And right in the middle of the mess was a huge tower, reaching amazing heights. The tower looked pretty old and it looked kind of like a temple. In front of it was a sign that read, "Sprout Tower. Remind yourself of when you have just begun."

May stared at the sign for a little bit, puzzled by what it meant, but decided to just ignore it for now and she continued walking.

But as May started walking, it started to get a windy.

May stopped for a moment and shut her eyes tight while holding down on her bandana as she let the wind pass. Once it stopped, she just continued walking trying to locate the pokémon center.

But once again the wind picked up and this time it caught May by surprise.

"Ah!" May whined as the wind lifted her bandana off her head and drifted it through the streets.

May sighed annoyed and ran off after it.

"Oh man! Where could it be?" May asked after searching for a little bit.

It had been about ten minutes now and May still couldn't find her bandana. And to make things worse, she was completely lost.

"Great, just my day…" May groaned taking a seat on a bench in front of a small bakery.

"Excuse me miss, but did you happen to lose this?" asked a voice from behind her.

A little startled, May looked back to see none other then her rival, Drew, and in his right hand, a red bandana.

"Um…Yes, I did." May said quietly.

"Well, here." he said handing it to her.

"Thank you…" May whispered placing the bandana back on her head.

Drew flipped his hair. "So…" he started, "Are you going to enter the pokémon contest?"

"Pokémon contest? I didn't know there was on here." May admitted.

Drew smirked. "I didn't think so," he said. "You know, you should be grateful to have me to tell you these things because obviously you're clearly incapable of figuring them out on your own."

"Excuse me?!" May snapped clenching her fist. "What the hell is _that _suppose to mean?!"

Drew chuckled. "Exactly what you think it means."

"Well I'm sorry I'm not familiar with this region and-"

"Wait." Drew said cutting her off. "I thought your friends helped you with maps and stuff?"

May paused for a moment. "Well if you _have _to know, I'm not traveling with them anymore."

"What? Why? Where are they now?" Drew asked a little shocked.

"Shinou." May said simply.

"And…Why aren't you with them…?" Drew asked slowly.

May shrugged. "Because I wanted to come here."

Drew said nothing for a moment and smirked. "So let me get this straight… You left your friends, the people who guide you and cook for you and pretty much help you survive, to come here and travel endlessly by yourself in some region you don't even know? Why would you so something stupid like that?" he asked looking her in the eyes.

May turned her head away from him unable to return his gaze. "You wouldn't even care…" she said sadly feeling tears swell up in her eyes.

Drew gave May a confused look but before he could say anything, May had gotten up and made her way out of sight.

"Hello! How may I help you?" asked Nurse Joy as May approached the counter.

"Um…I'd like to register for the pokémon contest," she said while mentally thanking Drew. "And I want to have my pokémon checked out. And also if it's not too much trouble, I'd like a room for the night."

Nurse Joy smiled brightly. "Of course! But first things first. I'll need to see your contest pass."

May began to rummage through her backpack and pulled out a green card with a blue ribbon on it. "Here." she said handing the pass to Nurse Joy.

Nurse Joy observed the card for a moment. "I'm sorry…" she said, "But this is a Kanto pass. Here you'll need a Johto pass."

May sighed. Today was _definitely _was not her day.

"Oh, but don't worry!" Nurse Joy assured her after seeing depression upon her face. "It can easily be traded."

May perked up, but only a little. She still was still pretty down.

After Nurse Joy had finished typing something on the computer, she handed May a yellow card with a pink ribbon on it.

"There, you're all registered." she said after May accepted the pass. "You can leave all of your pokémon on the counter if you'd like, and here's the key to your room." she finished handing May a key.

May nodded and took the key form her hand. She then pulled out six pokéballs and placed them on the counter.

"Good night!" Nurse Joy cheerfully said as she watched May go down a nearby hallway.

"Room 12, huh?" May thought aloud reading the number on the key continuing to walk down the hallway.

"Here it is..." May pointed out to no one unlocking the door making her way inside.

The room was nothing special. The walls were painted a very dull green and in some parts it looked like the paint was chipping off. The carpet was an off-white color and was stained with god knows what. There were also two windows with matching off-white curtains. There was a single bed in the left corner with teal sheets and a single white pillow. Next to the bed was a wooden nightstand with multiple drawers and on top of it was a digital alarm clock and a vase filled with fresh lilacs.

May sighed as she collapsed on the bed tucking herself under the covers.

'I can't believe I came here for _him_…' she thought lying on her back so she could face the ceiling.

'I mean…He's such a jerk to me! He's always bragging to me and mocking me…' May turned on her side and snuggled against her pillow smiling. 'And cheers me up when I'm down…And gives me advice…And-AH! What am I thinking?'

May sighed and kept her eyes shut tight. 'I think I just need some rest…' she thought before drifting off to sleep.

_THE NEXT DAY_

May awoke to a very unpleasant noise and shoved her face within her pillow hoping it would stop.

After a minute or two, she groaned as she slowly sat up and turned of the alarm and glanced at the clock.

"Oh my god!" she cried noticing the time. "I'm gunna be late for the contest!"

May sprang out of bed and quickly splashed some water on her face and changed her clothes. She then ran downstairs grabbing her pokéballs on her way out.

Once she was out the door, a thought occurred to her.

"Wait….I don't even know where the pokémon contest is!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, it's over there, hon." a voice pointed out.

"Huh?" May asked. "Where?"

"In that red building by the book store."

"Oh! Thank you!" May said. Then she turned back to see who she was talking to. "H-Harley?" she shouted completely startled.

Harley smiled brightly. "The one and only!" he said putting one hand on his hip and pointing towards himself looking very proud about something.

"W-What are you doing here?" May asked still shocked by Harley's appearance.

"Why, entering the contest of course!"

May sighed and rolled her eyes. Even _she_ could've guessed that.

"So, where are your little boy toys?" Harley asked when he saw May's friends weren't with her.

"They're _not _with me, ok?" May told him very irritated.

Harley shrugged. "Isn't that a shame? No one to cheer you on…" he observed quietly so only he could almost here it.

May cocked her head. She had never thought about that before…

"But then again…" Harley pointed out, "You _do _have your little _boyfriend_!"

May blushed a deep scarlet. "W-What? You mean Drew? No way! He's just a rival!" she assured him.

May was about to go on but instead she observed what she had just said and began to wonder if she used the appropriate use of word. Rival? Is that what Drew was? Nothing but someone she was focused on defeating in a mere battle?

'No.' she thought. 'Drew and I have to at least he friends. Right…?'

To tell the truth, May had never given her relationship with Drew much thought before. She usually had other things to worry about.

"Deep in thought about Drew?" Harley teased.

May rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for this. She had to get moving or she would be late for the contest. Plus, she couldn't take any more nonsense from Harley about her and Drew.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go now if I want to be on time." May pointed out also hoping to change the subject.

Harley smiled one of his huge famous fake smiles. "Oh, of course! Come on! It would just _kill _me inside if you were to miss the contest!"

May said nothing and gave Harley a strange look.

'He's definitely up to something.' May concluded. 'Better stay alert.'

After about twenty minutes, Harley and May had reached where the contest was being held.

"Finally!" May cried. "We're here! I can't wait to-" May paused for a moment when all of the sudden a thought occurred to her.

"Hey, Harley? Do you ever-?" May looked back to notice Harley wasn't even there anymore.

May cocked her head. "Weird…He was here a minute ago." she murmured.

May just shrugged and took out six pokéballs from her pocket.

"Come on out everyone!" she commanded releasing her pokémon.

All of her pokémon came out and looked at her expectantly.

"Ok…There's a contest here you guys and it starts in…" May looked over at a nearby clock tower. "Three hours." she informed her pokémon.

Then she paused for a moment. "The thing is… I still don't know what I'm going to do for my appeal, or even which one of you to use for that matter!"

May sat down to ponder this for a moment but her train of thought was interrupted.

"Well isn't that typical May?" a familiar voice mocked. "Always thinking ahead."

May groaned and looked behind her. "Drew…" She mumbled.

Drew smirked. "Hello to you too." he said

May sighed. "What do you want _now_?" she asked a little irritated.

"I just came to say hi to my rival is all." he said innocently.

May crossed her arms. "Oh so _that's _what you're doing?"

Drew flipped his hair. "Mmhhmm."

May rolled her eyes. "Well you know what? I don't have time for this. I have to think of a routine. But of course you would probably know that since you were stalking me or something, so you can just go away now."

Drew had listened to this intently but cringed a little at the word _stalking _and blushed.

May paused and observed Drew. "Um…You ok?"

Drew snapped out of trance he was in and faced May. "Yeah. Um…I have to go anyway." he lied beginning to walk off.

"But-"

Drew turned around. "Oh and by the way. I bet your Squirtle would make a lovely appeal and your Combusken would definitely have your back during the battles. Use them." he advised her as well as interrupting her.

May was about to say what she was trying to say before, but Drew was already too far away.

May frowned unsatisfied, but decided to shake it off for now and she turned to face her pokémon who all looked at her curiously.

May forced a smile and took out four pokéballs. "Return." she commanded leaving only her Squirtle and Combusken remaining.

The two once again looked at her expectantly.

"Alright guys!" May said putting her hands behind her back. "It's just you and me now!"

Combusken and Squirtle perked up and ran over to their trainer.

"Combusken!"

"Squirtle!"

May giggled. "Come on! Let's practice!"

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**Alright there. Remeber to review! And I love flames because 1. They are so fricken halarious and 2. Belive it or not, your insultivness helps ME to be a better writer! OMG! I don't think insultiveness is a word either but I reallly don't care...**


	4. A Dramatic Expirience

**Wow I updated earlier than I intended. Oh well! This chapter was shorter than I expected but I guess I'll have to get over it.**

**I still don't own pokémon! It's not fair! Think of all the good I could bring to that show! (Well if you support AAML and DAML anyway... )**

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****Chapter Three: A Dramatic Experience **

"Hello everyone!" Lillian greeted looking out into the audience. "And welcome to Violet City's pokémon contest!"

The crowd began to applaud and cheer loudly.

Lillian smiled. "Today's the first official contest of the Johto Grand Festival! So please give a big hand to our contestants taking part in this event!"

The crown once again went wild.

"But before we start, I would like to introduce you to our three judges! First, Contesta!"

"It's a pleasure to be here!" Contesta said leaning into the microphone.

"Next, Sukizo!"

"You're all remarkable!" he said folding his hands.

"And last, Violet City's own Nurse Joy!"

"I'm tickled pink to be here!" Nurse Joy said tilting her head to the side smiling.

"Well you look like a good crowd so let's get busy!" she cried putting her fist in the air.

Backstage, May was waiting eagerly to make her appeal; and more importantly, win the ribbon.

May took a deep breath trying to calm herself down as she took a seat on a nearby bench when something caught her eye. She glanced over at a faded red rose attached to a card with her name written on the front.

Cocking her head, May curiously picked up the card and read its content.

_Dear May,_

_I wish to meet with you today in the Sprout Tower after the preliminary rounds. But make sure you don't tell anyone and most importantly, come alone. Until then. _

_Sincerely,_

_Drew_

May stared at the card expressionless, until she felt her face burn and she began to blush. "D-Drew wants to meet with _me_? A-alone…?" May questioned out loud in complete shock.

Beginning to feel lightheaded, May got up to go get a bottle of water, leaving the card on the bench forgetting all about it in her excitement.

"Our first contestant is Harley!" Lillian cried enthusiastically.

The crowd began to cheer a Harley made his way onto the stage.

"Why hello!" Harley bellowed. "I'd like for you to meet a friend of mine! Come on out Baynet!" he said releasing a grey pokémon.

"Baynet, use will-o-wisp!"

Baynet obeyed and shot four balls of purple and blue flames into a neat vertical line above it.

"Good! Now use thunder!"

Baynet obediently did what it was told and raised its arm producing a large amount of electricity hitting all of the balls in one clean shot, sending the remains all over the stage which sparkled in the light.

"Wow! Fantastic!" Lillian admired spinning around in circles. "Now let's see what our judges have to say!"

"An overall good performance. Baynet is obviously well trained." Contesta said giving Harley a 9.1.

"Simply remarkable!" Sukizo said giving him a 9.0.

"A trainer and their pokémon in perfect harmony!" Nurse Joy commented giving him a 9.3.

"A fair score of 27.4!" Lillian cried reading the large number on the board.

"Thank you all!" Harley shouted blowing kisses to the audience once they began to applaud for him.

"Our next contestant is Drew!" Lillian shouted running into the center of the stage.

The crowd cheered as they waited for Drew to come on the stage.

After a minute, the crowd grew silent and whispers could be heard through out the arena.

"Um…Drew?" Lillian asked. She then looked towards the judges and they just simple shrugged.

Lillian faced the crowd again and chuckled nervously. "Uh, it appears that Drew isn't here and there for we are forced to disqualify him. I'm sorry."

Backstage, May was staring at the screen in the locker room. "What? But that's impossible…" she whispered to herself.

"Hello!" a voice said completely startling May.

"H-Harley?" May asked. Then a thought occurred to her. "Wait…Did _you _do this?"

"Huh? Do what?"

"Did you do something to Drew?" she asked angrily.

"What? Me? I had no idea that Drew darling would even be entering!" Harley assured her.

May frowned and turned away still not completely convinced. 'I hope nothing bad happened to him…' she thought making her way over to the stage as she heard her name being called.

May nervously approached the stage, still worried about Drew. Taking a deep breath, she took out a pokéball.

"Squirtle, take the stage!" she cried releasing her blue turtle.

"Squirtle!" it said happily.

"Um…Squirtle, use bubble!"

Squirtle did what it was told and shot bubbles from its mouth in all directions.

"Um, good! Uh, now use ice beam!" she commanded in a shaky voice.

Squirtle shot out a bright white beam hitting about half of the bubbles turning them into ice.

"Uh…Use water gun!"

Squirtle then used water gun trying to hit the frozen balls to balance them in the air, but missed completely and leaving the iced balls to smash into pieces as they hit the ground one after another.

May took a step back trying to figure out what just happened and Squirtle looked at her with concern.

"Well, it looks like things didn't turn out the way May had hoped! Let's see what our judges have to say about this!" Lillian said facing the judges.

"May just needs a little more practice." Contesta advised giving her a 6.2.

"Not very remarkable…" Sukizo said giving her a 6.5.

"It seems you were at least on the right track." Nurse Joy sympathized only giving her a 6.0.

"Oh too bad! An 18.7 isn't going to be enough to advance!" Lillian said.

May sighed as she walked off the stage taking a seat on a bench. "How'd I screw up so badly?" May thought aloud. "I mean, we did that routine perfectly when we practiced it…"

Then, she remembered something she was once told.

_The most important skill a pokémon coordinator can have is staying calm. When a coordinator is feeling nervous, the pokémon can sense it, and that can end up as a failed attack plan._

May pondered this for a moment. "Come to think of it, I was a little nervous. I mean, I was completely unfocused…" she paused. "My mind wasn't in the contest, it was on a different topic…" And then it hit her. Drew. She was worried about Drew.

May then remembered the card, and looked beside her to find that it was no longer there. May sighed. "I guess I shouldn't have left it here in the first place."

"And that's all of the contestants!" Lillian cried. "Now let's see who'll be going through to the second round!"

Eight faces then appeared on the board, but none of them belonged to May. On the other hand, Harley had managed to make it through though.

May sighed. "Oh well…I couldn't have focused out there even if I knew I was unfocused in the first place."

May then got up and walked out the automatic doors. "Maybe I can still see Drew at the Sprout Tower."

After about 10 minutes, May finally came across the same tower she had stopped by earlier.

"If Drew's not in here…" May threatened, "I'm to find him and make sure he's alright, and then I'm going to kill him for worrying me so much!" she said walking into the temple like structure.

"Um, hello?" May called through the tower after walking to the center of the room.

The whole place was empty except for the middle where there was a large swaying bar.

"Weird…" May thought to herself as she made her way into another room. This room was pitch black, and was lighted by the small light that crept through the crack of the doorway. May shrugged and opened the door just enough to fit herself though and began to search for a light switch.

"Is anyone in here?" she called once more.

There was no answer, and the uncomfortable silence was beginning to freak May out.

May then chuckled nervously and made her way out of the room, but was stopped when the door was slammed shut in her face and the whole room was suddenly lit up.

May gasped and looked up. "T-The rooms so high!" she observed.

The room did reach incredible heights just like the tower itself, but this particular room happened to be very narrow and small. Near the very top of the room were three wooden bars that went from one side of the wall to the opposite. There were also two small windows at very top where the wall and the ceiling finally met.

"W-Where am I?" May asked who was currently panicking and walking around the room.

May immediately stopped though when a drop of water gently splashed against the top of her head.

Curious, May slowly turned her attention to the top of the room, where the wall just beneath the windows was stained a darker color than the rest of the wall, giving May the idea that it was leaking.

"That's strange…" May murmured cocking her head.

May cringed when another drop of the ice cold water splashed upon her forehead.

"I wonder if-"

But May was cut off when the drops began falling more frequently.

"W-What going on?" she asked beginning to really panic.

The drops soon turned into a stream, growing stronger by the second sending water flowing from the crack in the bottom of the window.

May took a step back to get out of the streams way and wiped the water off her forehead with her sleeve.

All of the sudden the window began to crack, until it could no longer take the pressure of the water, resulting it to smash into tiny pieces causing the river to flow down more heavily.

"AH!" May cried putting her arms over her head for protection as the shards came crashing down with the water, some piercing through her skin.

"H-Help me! Anybody!" May cried desperately covering her bleeding wound with her hand. "P-Please!"

But May knew it was no use. The walls were extremely think and her screams definitely wouldn't be heard over the sound of the roaring river anyway.

May began to cry as the room gradually filled with water reaching her thighs.

"H-Help!" she cried once more only shouting out of pure instinct this time.

The water level was taller then she was now, but she managed to stay alive for the moment as she frantically began to swim to keep up with the rising water level. She knew she was going to die by the time the room was completely filled, but until then she wanted to just buy herself a little more time, although the effort did seem hopeless.

'It can't end like this…' she thought to herself sadly. 'It just can't…'

As the water was about to make contact with the ceiling, May took a deep breath and dove under.

They say when you're about to die, your whole life flashes before your eyes. Well that's what was happening to May. She began to think of her family, and Ash, and Brock, and even Harley. Then she began to think about Drew…

Her train of thought was interrupted though when all of the sudden she felt the water crashing violently down on her motionless body.

In fact, she could have sworn it as pushing her back towards the ground.

'Good bye world…' May thought as she started to shout as the pain grew as well as her oxygen growing low.

Her vision then began to blur and all of her senses weakened. She stopped fidgeting and seized her shouting as felt herself lose consciousness.

Then she just blacked out all together…

**

* * *

DUN DUN DUN. What's ganna happen???...Wait, why am I asking you? I already know what's going to happen cause I'm the author! Yay me! Hm, also thank you to Fastestthingalive34 for the tower idea and thanks to my sister for the appeals! Oh yeah and don't forget to review! Until next time¡Adiós!**


	5. Revealing The Truth

**Oh wow I updated a LOT earlier than I expected...Oh well. Also I might make May and Drew 'not themselves' like in my story...So you're just gonig to have to get over it. I know I have.**

**Me: Hey Drew! Wanna do the disclaimer?**

**Drew: Why? You onviously don't own pokémon. No one would trust you with it. Hell, people don't trust you with a peice of paper.**

**Me:...Weeeeeeeeeeeeell I guess that pretty much sums it up right there...**

**May: On with the story!**

**Me: WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM?!**

* * *

**Chapter Four: Revealing The Truth**

Drew paced back in forth in a white room with multiple chairs against the wall and a desk in the corner with a woman busying herself by typing something on her computer.

"Are you ok, sir?" she asked looking up from the screen.

Drew stopped and but didn't look at her, and simply nodded. "I-I'm fine…" he replied taking a deep breath trying to calm himself.

Just then other woman came through a door next to the desk and looked at Drew.

"Are you the one who-"

"Uh, yeah, I am." Drew said cutting the woman off.

The women smiled. "Come with me."

Seeing the woman smile gave Drew a spark of hope, that because she smiled maybe everything was ok…

Drew frowned. 'Or maybe she's just smiling so I don't get worried, that something bad happened and she just doesn't want to be the one to tell me what…' he thought.

The woman led Drew down a narrow hallway and opened up a door at the very end.

"Here you are." she said holding the door open for him while he walked in. "I guess I'll just leave you alone now."

Drew looked back at the woman and nodded as he watched her close the door.

He then turned his attention to a bed against the center of the wall, slowly walking up to it and pulling a chair up next to the bed so he could sit down by its edge.

Lying down in the bed was a girl, no older than Drew, resting peacefully. She had bandages wrapped around her arms and her head, and had a huge bruise on the side of her neck. The bandages on her right arm were stained with blood, and she also had a scar on her left shoulder.

Drew sighed of relief. 'At least she's still breathing…' he thought to himself.

But his train of thought was interrupted when he heard the girl moan lightly and toss herself on her side, slowly fluttering her eyes open.

"D-Drew…?" she whispered softly so he could barley here her.

Drew nodded. "Yeah, it's me."

The girl smiled and tried to sit up, struggling in the process.

"Don't May. You're still weak." Drew told her.

May sighed and collapsed back on the bed. "W-Where am I?" she asked holding her head in pain.

"You're in the hospital."

"The hospital?" May asked completely shocked.

Drew nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

"How'd I get here?"

"Well, it's kinda a long story…"

May looked around and then looked back at Drew. "At the moment, I have nothing but time on my hands."

Drew sighed. "Ok then…I guess I should start from the beginning, when the contest started…"

FLASHBACK

"_Hello everyone!" Lillian greeted looking out into the audience. "And welcome to Violet City's pokémon contest!"_

_The crowd began to applaud and cheer loudly._

_Lillian smiled. "Today's the first official contest of the Johto Grand Festival! So please give a big hand to our contestants taking part in this event!" _

_The crown once again went wild._

"_But before we start, I would like to introduce you to our three judges! First, Contesta!"_

"_It's a pleasure to be here!" Contesta said leaning into the microphone._

"_Next, Sukizo!"_

"_You're all remarkable!" he said folding his hands._

"_And last, Violet City's own Nurse Joy!"_

"_I'm tickled pink to be here!" Nurse Joy said tilting her head to the side smiling._

"_Well you look like a good crowd so let's get busy!" she cried putting her fist in the air._

_Backstage, Drew was leaning against a wall, away from everyone else. _

_He took a deep breath. 'I wonder what May's doing…' he thought to himself beginning to walk away from the wall._

_It didn't take long to find her; she was sitting on a bench impatiently waiting for her turn._

_Drew watched her from behind a nearby wall and smirked._

_All of the sudden she cocked her head and curiously picked up a card next to her on the bench with a red rose attached to it. The worst part was…_

_It had her name on it._

_Drew frowned. 'Does May have a secret admirer?" he thought angrily._

_He wasn't dumb. He had known for quite some time about his feelings for May. That's why he gave her all those roses. Of course, he wasn't positive if his feelings would ever be returned, so he lied and just said that they were simply for her pokémon. He didn't want to risk their friendship for a relationship. Not until he was sure that May liked him back._

_He watched May scan the card, and she began to blush, which caused Drew to clench his fist._

_He watched May put the card down, looking completely startled. _

"_D-Drew wants to meet with me? A-alone…?" May questioned out loud in complete shock. _

_Drew blinked stupidly. 'What? Did she just say my name?' he thought dumbfounded._

_He watched May then get up off the bench, and walk off somewhere else._

_Once Drew was sure she was out of sight, he came out from behind the wall and picked up the card, reading it over._

_After reading it for about the 10th time, he stuffed in his pocket and crossed his arms. _

'_Well what do you know?' he thought. 'That is my name…'_

"_Our first contestant is Harley!" Lillian cried enthusiastically. _

_The crowd began to cheer a Harley made his way onto the stage. _

"_Why hello!" Harley bellowed. "I'd like for you to meet a friend of mine! Come on out Baynet!" he said releasing a grey pokémon. _

_Then it hit him. "Harley!" Drew thought out loud. _

_Without a second thought, Drew dashed out the contest arena and ran down the street to the Sprout Tower. _

_Once he got their, he bent over so he could rest his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath._

_He then went inside the tower, looking around curiously, especially at the moving bar in the center of the room._

'_Weird…' he thought making his way into another room._

"_Oh my god!" Drew gasped admiring the height of the room._

_The room did reach incredible heights just like the tower itself, but this particular room happened to be very narrow and small. Near the very top of the room were three wooden bars that went from one side of the wall to the opposite. There were also two small windows at very top where the wall and the ceiling finally met._

_Drew cocked his head slightly as he noticed that the wall was a darker color than the rest of the room right underneath one of the small windows._

_Drew frowned. "It's leaking…" he thought out loud._

"_Bingo." A voice said._

_Drew turned around to find non other than Harley standing in the door way._

"_Harley?" he asked._

_Harley smiled. "That's right, hon."_

"_What are you doing here?" Drew demanded._

"_I should be the one asking that question."_

_Drew clenched his fist. "I'm warning you! If you even think about hurting May I'll-"_

"_You'll what? No offence Drew darling, but you're half my size."_

_Drew mentally slapped himself. 'He's right, I'm no match for him…' he thought. 'But I can't let him hurt May…'_

"_I suggest you just get outta here green hair, and then you won't get hurt."_

"_Fine! I can go back to the contest and warn May to stay away from here!" _

_Harley laughed sinisterly. "I hate to burst your bubble, but the preliminary rounds are over by now. She's probably on her way right now."_

_Drew froze. 'Oh god, I better hurry!' he thought running past Harley and out the Sprout Tower._

'_I know, if I just wait here by the front door, I'll warn her before she even gets in.' _

_Drew paused for a moment. 'But…What if she uses a different entrance? I wouldn't be able to stop her…'_

_Drew frowned as he pondered on this for a moment._

'_Wait, what if I just broke through the wall? By the time I break through May will surely be there!'_

_Drew smiled as he made his way to the side of the tower._

"_Come on out, Roselia!" Drew called throwing a pokéball. _

_A green pokémon with a blue and a red rose for hands appeared in front of him._

"_Rose!" it chirped happily._

"_Roselia, I need you to use your Magical Leaf on that wall." he told it pointing to the side of the tower._

_Roselia nodded to show it understood. "Rose!" it cried releasing bright glowing leaves from the roses on its hand and having them violently attack the wall._

_Drew smirked as we watched Magical Lead make its mark. _

_After about 10 minutes, the wall appeared to be very thin, and he could here the roar of the water crashing down. _

"_Come on, just a little more…" Drew told himself._

_Finally, after what seemed like forever, the wall smashed and water began pouring out the wall rapidly._

"_Roselia, return!" Drew commanded sucking Roselia back in its pokéball with a red light._

_Drew then took a step backward to escape the main flow of the water, hoping that May wasn't their, that maybe she escaped._

_But as if luck would have it, as soon as that thought crossed Drew's mind, a body was carried out by the flow of the stream._

"_May!" Drew called out running to her side. He bent down and checked her pulse._

"_Oh my god…" he whispered. "S-She's not breathing…"_

_Panicking, Drew picked May up and placed her on his back and began to run to the nearest hospital._

* * *

"_Please! Help her!" Drew pleaded to the woman at the front counter of the hospital._

_The woman nodded and picked up a phone. "I have an emergency here…" she said into the phone. _

_Almost instantly, some men with a stretcher came through a door. _

"_We'll take over from here, son." one of the men told Drew._

_Drew nodded and allowed them to take May away._

"_The procedure could take a while, you can come back later if you want." the woman at the front desk told him._

_Drew shook his head and took a seat. "No, that's ok…I want to stay here."_

_The woman shrugged and just went back to typing on her computer._

END FLASHBACK

"And then they led me here…" Drew finished.

May was sitting up by now, and her face was showing pure horror and shock.

"I-I wasn't even breathing?" May asked, her voice shaking.

Drew closed his eyes and nodded slowly.

May looked down. "And…You saved me…"

Drew nodded again. "Yeah, I guess I did."

May smiled brightly. "Thank you, Drew. I owe you my life."

Drew smiled back. "It was nothing, really…"

May giggled. "Well anyway, what happened to Harley?"

Drew frowned and hesitated for a moment. "He…He got away…" he said regrettably.

"You mean he's still out there?"

"Yeah, and knowing him, he'll probably try another stunt like that sooner or later…"

May grabbed onto her knees and shuddered.

"Oh god…" she whispered. "I'm going to die…"

Drew shook his head. "No you're not. In fact, you're traveling with me from now on."

May looked at him startled. "What? Why?"

"Because I want to be there to protect you. I can't let Harley kill you like that."

May looked back down and pondered about it for a moment.

"Well…Ok." she finally replied. "I guess it would be safer than traveling all myself…"

Drew nodded. "Then it's settled. We'll set out tomorrow. They said you would be able to leave by then." he told her.

May nodded as well and smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

**Me: Surprise, Surprise. May didn't die.**

**May: Of course I didn' die! If I did I wouldn't hae said "on with the story"!**

**Drew: (looks at May like she's an idiot) Wow, I wonder why I hang out with sometimes...**

**Me: Well, you're kinda not on the show anymore...**

**Drew: ...Shut up.**

**May: OH! I'm still on the show!**

**Me: Not for long.**

**May: WHAT!? (has an emotional breakdown and runs away)**

**Me: (chuckles nervously) Ehe...Well, see you next time! And don't forget to review!**


	6. A New and Interestng Start

**Alright, I decided to continue. I mean, I knew I was going to get a review, but I never thought I was going to get 10! If I didn't continue, I knew I would disappoint a lot of people and I would feel kindda guilty. Anyway, since I'm just coming off of my mental breakdown with this story this chapter may not be that great. But please stick with me, once I really get into it It'll get better.**

**Disclaimer: ...What do you think?

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**Chapter Five: A New and Interesting Start**

The next day, May fluttered her eyes open and yawned lazily. Still feeling a little lightheaded from yesterday, she managed to get off of bed slowly and stretch her arms.

'Hmm, I wonder where Drew is.' May thought looking around the empty hospital room.

Simply shrugging, May picked up her backpack and went into the bathroom to change and what not, and after about a half hour, she came out with fresh bandages covering her wounds and was out of her hospital gown and into her traveling clothes again.

"I see you're up." said a voice.

May turned around to see Drew in to the doorway of the room smirking.

"What a relief. I wasn't looking forward to waking you. According to your friends, you can get pretty annoying in the morning."

May frowned. "Couldn't you at least _try _to be a _little _nicer to me?"

Drew flicked his hair. "Nope."

Rolling her eyes and sighing in an annoyed tone, May just walked past Drew, shoving him slightly to get through the doorway, and began to make her way down then hall.

"Hey!" Drew called catching up to her. "You think you can just leave without me?"

May turned her attention towards Drew. "I wasn't leaving; I was just going to get some food."

"Oh…" Drew said closing his eyes a little embarrassed, but still trying to keep his cool guy demeanor.

"Why?" May asked. "Did you want something?"

Drew shook his head. "I'm not hungry."

"What?" she asked a little shocked.

"Well, not everyone consumes over twice their body weight every day. I'm just surprised you're not fat yet."

May's eyes widened at this comment, which she found it completely offensive, and shot a glare at the green-haired coordinator. "Well! I think that you!-um…uh…" she hissed angrily, trailing off as she began to stammer.

Drew chuckled. "Wow, you can't even think of a good comeback."

May said nothing and crossed her arms and began to pout like a two year old. "I've lost my appetite." she mumbled.

"Good. That means we can get outta here and get to the next town sooner."

May rolled her eyes and continued to ignore Drew, who just smirked at her behavior as they exited the hospital.

* * *

"So…how are you?" May asked.

They had been traveling for a good hour by now, and this was the first time May had spoken since they left.

Drew looked at the girl, a puzzled expression on his face, wondering why she would ask such a random question.

"Um, good…" he answered a little suspicious.

May turned her attention to what was in front of her again. "That's good."

Drew cocked his head. "And…how are you?"

"Fine."

Drew nodded and looked at the sky. "Ok…"

"Um, what have you been doing lately? I mean, you must've done _something_ interesting before the Johto festival started."

Drew shrugged. "Well, I went back to LaRousse City and trained, and that was pretty much it…"

May frowned. "You spent your _whole _summer training?"

Drew nodded slowly. "Why, what did you do?"

"I spent some time with my family and went on a cruise with my friends."

"Didn't you train?"

"Well, I had a few practice battles here and there but besides that, not really…"

"Wow. No wonder you're so bad at this whole contest thing."

May glared at him. "Excuse me? If my memory is correct, _I'm _the one who won the Grand Festival!"

"Yeah, well, you didn't deserve it. Someone who actually dedicated their time for training should win. Not some happy-go-luck girl."

May crossed her arms completely insulted by the fact that Drew didn't think that she actually deserved to win.

"Hmpf! At least _I _know how to have fun!"

Drew looked at her arching an eyebrow. "What?"

May smiled. "You need to loosen up!" she said shoving him playfully.

Drew said nothing and rolled his eyes putting his left hand in his pocket.

"Tell you what!" May said, "I'll take you to a fair!"

Drew turned his attention to May again. "_A fair_?"

May nodded her head happily. "Yeah!"

Drew shook his head. "No thank you."

"Why, haven't you ever been to a fair?"

Drew paused for a moment. "Well, once, when I was five…"

May stared at him. "Five? At that age you probably couldn't even go on half the rides! I don't care weather you want to go or not, because I'm taking you to one."

Drew frowned as he looked at the ground apparently in deep thought. "Well, ok…" he finally agreed. "But only if we do something _I _want to do as well." he added quickly.

May nodded. "It's a deal!"

After that the two continued to wonder around the forest for about another 10 minutes, which was filled with an uncomfortable silence, until May decided to finally break it.

"When are we going to get to the next town anyway?" she asked.

Drew looked around at the foliage, a perplexed look upon his face. "I don't know." he answered after a long pause.

May sighed. "Don't you know where we are?"

Drew hesitated for a moment. "Well…"

"Oh, please don't tell me we're lost!"

"Ok, I won't."

May groaned and took a seat on a nearby rock. "Ugh! We're _never_ going to get outta this forest! I'm so hungry!"

Drew rolled his eyes, wondering how she could change the subject to food so quickly and randomly, but merely shrugged.

"Hey, you're the one who didn't eat breakfast." he pointed out.

"What?! But _you're _the one to blame for that!"

Drew frowned and closed his eyes. 'Can't disagree with that…' he thought. Sighing, he took a seat on the rock next to May, who simply glared at him once he looked at her.

"Listen." Drew said, "If you're really _that _hungry, we _could _go look for berries or something."

After pondering over his suggestion for as moment, May finally smiled and nodded her head. "Ok!" she agreed happily as she got to her feet.

Drew smiled as well as he too stood up. "Where do you wanna look first?" he asked.

"Well, I think we should split up!" May suggested before Drew could speak again.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Drew said frowning. "What if we get even more lost and can't find each other? Or what if something bad happens?"

May sighed. "Well, I guess you're right…"

Drew smirked. "Of course I'm right." he said. "I'm _always _right."

May rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "Whatever you say, Drew." she mumbled slightly irritated.

* * *

It had been another good half hour, and May and Drew were now wondering around the forest looking intently for something to eat, when May finally spotted a bush which was covered in red berries.

"Hey!" she shouted running over to it. "Check this out!"

"Huh?" Drew asked turning around to spot May by the bush. Once seeing the berries, Drew frowned.

"Um, May?"

"Oh thank God! I though I was gunna die!" May cried picking a berry.

"May, I-"

Drew stopped what he was trying to say though when May stuffed the berry in her mouth and begin to chew.

"Oh great…" Drew mumbled putting his right hand in his pocket.

A few seconds later, May shut her eyes tight and shuddered, and soon following that was a scream.

"What the hell?!" she shrieked spitting the mashed berry from her mouth.

Drew didn't say anything as he watched the young coordinator scurry around frantically looking for water in amusement and chuckled.

May, hearing his slight laughter, flung herself around and shoved Drew, causing him to lose his balance and almost fall backwards.

"Do you find this funny?!" she asked him angrily. "Do you find something about my suffering _amusing_?"

Drew retained his composer and dusted off his mauve jacket.

"Well, yeah." he replied after a moment.

"And, may I ask _why_?!"

"Well, those are Belue Berries, which are spicy and sour. They're used to make poke block, and that's pretty much it. A coordinator would know better not to stick one in their mouth, since it causes a painful burn as an after affect. But hey, you're not exactly the brightest person I've ever had the displeasure of meeting."

May, who was steaming, (and also unable to think of any sort of response) shot the boy a defiant stare before she walked away from him as she once again began searching the forest.

'He thinks he knows _everything_.' she thought completely frustrated.

A moment later, Drew had caught up to her and began to help her continue the search as well.

"Hey! What did I say about leaving me behind?" he asked slightly irritated.

May sighed, annoyed by his presence.

"That something _bad _could happen or we could get _lost_…" she said in a mocking tone. "It's not like we aren't already lost anyways…" May mumbled to herself so only she could hear.

Drew sighed. 'This isn't going well at all…' he thought looking at May (who was currently cursing underneath her breath) with a worried expression.

After finding some berries (which were approved by Drew of course) they found a place to set up camp for the night seeing that they weren't going to get out of this forest anytime soon, and much to May's pleasure, they finally sat down and ate.

"So," May said stuffing a couple berries in her mouth, "You never _did _say where we were heading to."

Drew shrugged. "I don't know." he replied simply. "Once we get to a town I guess we'll just ask where the nearest pokemon contest is."

May nodded in agreement. "Ok."

"Why? Are you in any particular rush?"

May shook her head. "No, just curious." she said. "And also, the sooner we find a town with a fair the better." she added as an afterthought smiling.

Drew rolled his eyes. "I can't wait…" he said sarcastically.

The rest of the time though was filled with an uncomfortable silence, which was sometimes broken with some kind of random conversation starter (all of them coming from May), since both May and Drew didn't really know what to say to one another, until they just simply decided to call it a day once the wind blew out the blazing fire.

* * *

**Yay! Chapter five! I'm sorry if it wasn't that great or if it was kindda boring, but that's only because it's hard to write conversations and stuff like that when May and Drew are still...Yeah...Anyways, see you next chapter! (Oh yeah, and from now on I'm only going to update on Friday's. And I don't mean Friday as in ever week, I just mean on a random Friday...Today doesn't count)**


	7. Finding the Way

**Okay, here's chapter six! Yeah! And like I said, May and Drew might be a little OOC so you'll just have to get over it.**

**Disclaimer: Not in this life time, and most likely not the next

* * *

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**Chapter Six: Finding the Way**

May sighed deeply, dangling her feet over the edge of the riverbank, kicking them back and forth causing excess water to splash upon her shins.

She then turned her attention to the sky, which was swirling with luscious shades of orange, pink and indigo.

In the east, the sun's rays were beginning to creep over the foliage, giving it a beautiful glow, as well as gently warming May's body.

It was sunrise, and May had guessed that it was approximately 5:30 A.M.

She had woken up early for a change, unable to get a wink of sleep last night due to constant nightmares of her tower incident.

Drew, on the other hand, was still asleep. May figured he wouldn't be awake for a little while longer since she had noticed he didn't get that much sleep last night as well.

Sighing once more, May effortlessly got to her feet and began to walk away, glancing back at the shimmering stream once more before heading back to the campsite.

"Drew, Drew…Drew? Wake up!" May whispered, shaking the coordinator gently.

Groaning slightly, the young boy opened his eyes, slowly sitting up as he used his hands to support his own weight.

"W-What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his right eye with the corresponding hand.

"Um, about 5:30, I guess…" May answered.

Drew blinked. "In the afternoon?"

May rolled her eyes and sighed. "No Drew, in the morning."

"Whoa, you're up early…"

"No kidding."

Drew frowned and got to his feet, as so did May.

"Well, usually you sleep in a lot." Drew told her, putting his left hand in his pocket.

May shrugged. "Yeah, well, I guess I just had a lot on my mind."

Drew nodded. "Hmm, me too."

May cocked her head. "Really? What of?"

Drew paused for a moment and closed his eyes. "It's…it's nothing."

May frowned. "Are you sure nothing's bothering you?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"…Promise?"

Drew smiled vaguely. "Promise."

May crossed her arms, still not completely convinced. "Well, okay…"

"Oh and also, we're still lost."

May sighed. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that…"

Drew nodded. "Yeah, we still need to find away out."

May rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

Drew frowned. "Okay then, if _you're _so clever, why don't you find a way out?"

May placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe I will."

"Then do it."

"Fine!"

"Fine."

Cursing beneath her breath, May angrily stormed off, Drew leisurely trailing behind. After about a minute, May stopped and got to her knees, leaving Drew to questionably look down at the young girl as well as arch his eyebrow when she began to observe a rock.

"Um, May?" Drew asked, not sure weather to be concerned or not. "What are you doing?"

"I'm finding away out." May replied, not taking her eyes off the rock.

Drew squatted down to her level, looking at the rock with a puzzled expression.

"And, how does this help us find our way out…?" he asked.

"Simple." Mat told him. "You go in which ever direction the moss is facing."

Drew stared at May for a moment, and then began to burst out into laughter.

"What's so funny?" May asked.

"You…you actually…believe that?" Drew asked, speaking in between his laughter.

May narrowed her eyes. "Of course I do, it's only true!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, May…"

May's glare deepened. "Just watch."

Drew sighed as May began observing the rock once more.

"Eureka!" May cried happily about 30 seconds later.

Drew arched an eyebrow. "Eureka?"

"It means, 'I found it' or, 'I got it'."

Drew clenched his fist. "I know what it means!"

May chuckled nervously. "Chill, Drew!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Just tell me which way we're heading."

"Well, um, we have to go that way!" she explained, pointing directly in front of her.

Drew sighed. "So let me get this straight…you think that we should go _that _way?"

May nodded. "That's right!"

"Well…then I'm going this way."

"Huh?"

May stood there for a moment as she watched Drew head in the opposite direction that she had just suggested.

"W-Wait!" May called, catching up with Drew.

Drew opened his eye closest to May. "Yes…?"

"It's just…I…I really think we should go the other way."

Drew rolled his eyes. "No way."

May crossed her arms. "Okay. Then how do _you _propose to find the way out?"

Drew smirked. "You'll see."

"Drew, this is a bad idea."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"Not it's not!"

"You're going to get hurt!"

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Drew just frowned, not particularly in the mood to argue at the moment.

"Well, we'll see who's wrong." he said.

May put one hand on her hip as she watched the coordinator begin to suddenly climb a tree; an unfazed expression upon her face.

"You're just going to hurt yourself!" she called to him.

Drew gritted his teeth as he struggled to grab hold of the next branch. "For the last time I'll be fine, May! Quit worrying!"

"Are you sure…?"

Drew rolled his eyes, pulling himself up onto the branch. "Positive!"

May sighed as she watched the green-eyed boy reach the top.

"Well, what do you see?" she asked impatiently.

Drew pushed himself a little more out to the edge of the branch, firmly grasping the bark in order to keep his balance.

"Um, I see…hey!" he cried.

May's eyes widened as she looked up expectantly. "What is it?"

"I see the roof of a building!"

May smiled brightly. "Great! Now, come back down so we can finally get outta here!"

Drew nodded. "Okay."

He then looked down and began to observe his surroundings, including the tree, and after about a minute, May got a little worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked after Drew hadn't budged.

"Um, I don't think I can get down…"

May arched an eyebrow. "And why not…?"

"The branch nearest to me is too far away!"

"Well, just go back down the way you came up."

Drew paused for a moment. "Um, I can't remember how I got up…"

May sighed, slightly annoyed. "Then…why don't you just jump down?"

"Are you insane? It's way too high! I'll just get hurt!"

May crossed her arms. "Serves you right."

Drew rolled his eyes. "Just help me down!"

"And how am I suppose to do that?"

"I don't know, but don't just stand there doing nothing!"

"Well, I don't know exactly what I can do!"

"Well, do _something_!"

"Like _what_?"

"I don't know!"  
"Well, that's not very helpful!"

"_May_!"

"Okay! Okay, hold on!"

May bit her lip and looked around, hoping to see someone, _anyone_ that could possibly be of assistance to them. But, it's hard to find people when you're lost in the middle of nowhere…

"I got it!" May announced.

Drew rolled his eyes. "Don't you mean, 'Eureka'?"

May crossed her arms and shot a glare at the young boy.

Drew sighed. "Anyway, what is it?"

"Just _jump_!"

"No way!"

"Come on, Drew! It's not _that _high!"

"No!"

"Drew, for once, just _trust _me!"

Drew bit the bottom of his lip, looking once more at the ground. "Well, okay..."

May watched from below as he dangled his legs over the side of the branch, regrettably

looking below one last time before finally pushing himself off, violently landing on his

knees.

"Fuck!" Drew cried, grasping his knees with his eyes shut tight.

"Drew, are you okay?" May asked, bending over at his side.

"Do I _look _okay?"

May gave Drew a sympathetic look. "Well, no…"

Drew groaned, tightening his grip. "Well, do _something_!"

May paused, looking around for a moment before looking back at Drew. "Well, can you

get up?"

Drew clenched his fist as he struggled to get up, and when he finally managed to stand, a sudden pain jolted through his knees causing him to fall back onto the ground.

May sighed. "I guess not…"

"It would appear so…" Drew mumbled.

"Well, lemme help you up!"

But before Drew could say anything, May had bent down and put his right arm around her shoulder for support, and slowly managed to get him to his feet.

May smiled. "Okay, I'll help you walk _just _for a little bit. And then, once you put some stress on it, you should be able to stand on your own. Clear?"

Drew nodded weakly. "Crystal."

May and Drew had been traveling for about an hour now, and Drew had finally regained his composer. Well, to a certain degree anyway. He was limping, and May had to slow down her pace just to keep up with him.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" she asked suddenly breaking the silence.

Drew rolled his eyes. "Pretty damn."

"Well, when are we going to get there?"

"Um…soon."

May sighed. "Well, if you say so…"

Drew's frown deepened as he turned his attention to May, who had her arms crossed and was staring at the ground, a frustrated expression upon her features.

Sighing, he once again turned his attention to what was ahead of him and smiled.

"May!" he cried happily.

May arched an eyebrow, still not looking up. "What?"

"Check this out!"

Still confused, May finally looked up and turned her attention to what was in front of her as well and perked up a little.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, beginning to run towards it with Drew close behind.

Both of them stopped when they came across the edge of a cliff, which overlooked what appeared to be a peaceful looking town.

"We're finally here…" May said just above a whisper.

Drew nodded. "Yeah…"

May looked over at Drew and smiled. "Well, come on! Let's go!"

Drew smiled back as he followed the young girl into the boundaries of the town.

* * *

**Well, there you have it. Next chapter they'll be in Azelea Town! (10 bucks I spelt that wrong so I'll have to look it up later ) So yeah, don't forget to review please!**


	8. Wishing for Magic

**And here's chapter seven! I can't believe I updated so quickly. It was probably because I almost fainted in class and got sent home and then I worked on my story then...yeah...**

**Disclaimer: (yawn) This is getting old...**

_"Some magic is real..."_

-The Sixth Sense

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Wishing for Magic**

May and Drew had finally reached Azalea Town, and were wondering around the streets in hope to find some place to stay like a pokémon center or something.

"Drew, I'm tired…" May complained.

Drew rolled his eyes. "Something tells me you'll get over it…"  
"Well, where's the pokémon center?"

"I'm trying to figure that out, May."

"Well figure it out faster!"

"If you keep that up I'll throw you down a well!"  
May paused. "What well?"

Drew frowned and pointed to May's left. "That well."

May arched an eyebrow as she stared at the well for a moment, but merely shook it off and smiled brightly as she ran over to it, Drew trailing behind a with a puzzled expression upon his face.

"And, why is this so exciting…?" Drew asked looking down into the well when he had caught up with May.

May turned her attention to Drew. "Because, you can make wishes at wells!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Why are you so superstitious?"

May laughed and took out a quarter, handing it to Drew. "Sometimes it's fun to believe in magic! Here, you try!"

Drew shook his head. "I think I'll pass…magic is just a superstition."

May smiled and placed the quarter in his hand. "Some magic is real…" she whispered.

Drew sighed. "Okay, fine…"

Looking down at the quarter, Drew closed his eyes and held his hand over the well and dropped it.

"So, what'd you wish for?" May asked as he opened his eyes.

Drew smirked. "I can't tell you or it won't come true."  
May frowned, for she already knew that part. But, she was kindda hoping that Drew didn't, that way he'd tell her. She was extremely curious about what Drew wished for, but then again, she didn't want his dreams to be shattered…

"Well, okay…can we just get to the pokémon center now?" May asked.

Drew sighed. "If I even knew where the pokémon center was…"

May sighed. "Well, I guess we better start looking…"

* * *

"Hey! Look over there!" May cried happily.

"Huh? What is it May?" Drew asked.

"It's the pokémon center!"

"Whoa, for real?"

May nodded. "Uh-huh!"

Drew and May had been searching the whole town for a half hour without any luck of finding the pokémon center, so both were pretty relieved when they finally spotted one.

"Come on!" May said running over to the pokémon center.

Drew laughed and followed May.

* * *

"Hello, may I help you?" Nurse Joy asked.

"We need a room for the night." Drew said.

Nurse Joy nodded and pulled out a silver key, handing it to Drew.

"Enjoy your stay!" she said happily as the two walked away.

"Alright, we have room 11…" Drew said observing the key.

"Wow, I'm so tired…" May stated.

Drew put his right hand in his pocket. "Could you stop complaining for like, _five _seconds? Or is that just too difficult for you to handle?" he asked arching an eyebrow.

May glared at the coordinator. "I'm sorry if I'm making your life a living nightmare!"

Drew nodded as May's glare deepened. "You should be."

'Although I highly doubt May could _ever _make my life a living nightmare…' he thought to himself.

"Oh, here's our room!" May said walking over to a door with the number "11" on it.

Drew rolled his eyes as he unlocked and opened the door. "Wow May, you're smarter than you look."

May crossed her arms. "Oh just shut up, Drew."

Drew smirked as they entered the room.

"Whoa, _this _is our room?" Drew asked as he took a look around.

May frowned as she too scanned the room. "Why, what's wrong with it?"

Drew shook his head. "Well, it's just so empty and small…"

May cocked her head. "It looks like any other room I've ever stayed at…why, where do you usually stay?"

Drew flicked his hair. "At a hotel."

May rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry if we're all not rich like you."

Drew shrugged. "I'm not rich, but at least I'm not poor enough to stay at a pokémon center."

May narrowed her eyes. "I am _not _poor."

Drew sighed. "Well, I guess not because your father is a gym leader…but still, it is pretty pathetic that you have to sleep in a pokémon center every time you come into a town."

May rolled her eyes once more. "Well, because it has beds and food for a reasonable price."

"You mean you never eat out at a restaurant?"

May shook her head. "Not really."

Drew paused for a moment. "Well, how about the next town we go to I take you out to eat instead of having to eat the food that they serve at these pokémon centers."

May sighed. "Well, okay…"

Drew nodded. "Well, we still have some time left before this place locks up for the night…what do you want to do until then?"

May put her hand under her chin and went deep into thought.

"Well, do you just want to go for a walk or something? I need some fresh air." she said taking off her bandana.

Drew cocked his head. "Sure, but why are you taking off that bandana of yours?"

May shrugged. "I don't know…I'm always wearing it and I decided that maybe I should just stop wearing it all together."

Drew frowned. "You know, you look kindda weird without it…it matched your whole outfit and everything. Now…well, you just kindda look a little disproportionate to me."

May glared at him. "Well I'm sorry if my appearance bugs you. But I don't have any other clothes so I'm afraid that you'll just have to get over it." May then paused for a moment. "Can we go for a walk now?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

Drew then led her out the room shutting off the light and locking the door behind them.

* * *

"So, any particular place you wanna go?" Drew asked once they got outside the pokémon center.

May shrugged. "No, not really."

Drew sighed. "Well then, I guess we could walk through the park…"

May arched an eyebrow. "There's a park here?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah, I saw one when we were looking around for the pokémon center."

May cocked her head. "Oh…"

"Uh-huh, it's over this way." he said beginning to walk away from May.

"H-hey, wait for me!" she called catching up with him.

"See, there it is!" Drew said pointing to a peaceful looking park after May had quickly caught up with him.

"Wow, you were right Drew!"

Drew smirked. "You sound surprised."

May crossed her arms. "Well, you _can _be wrong you know."

Drew flicked his hair and chuckled. "May, May, May…when will you realize that I'm _always _right?"

May rolled her eyes. "The day I fly…" she mumbled.

Drew arched an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Oh, nothing!" she assured him quickly.

Drew said nothing as they entered the park.

"Wow, this place is huge for being in such a small town." May observed as she looked around.

Drew nodded. "Yeah."

"Hey, watch out!" a voice called.

"Huh?" May said. But before she even knew what was going on she got hit in the head with what appeared to be a baseball, causing her to fall over.

"May!" Drew cried, catching her before she hit the ground.

Just then two little boys ran up to them, both panting heavily.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" the boy said bowing his head apologetically.

Drew shook his head as he helped May regain her composer.

"I-is she alright?" the other boy asked.

Drew took a good look at May who was holding her head with her eyes shut tight.

"She'll be fine…" Drew answered, still holding May in fear of her falling over again.

"Sorry again!" the boys said in unison as they ran off quickly, probably not wanting to get in any sort of trouble.

Drew sighed as he turned his attention to May once more.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

May nodded slowly. "Y-yeah, I'm fine…"

Drew smiled gently "Good. Now, I think we better get you back to the pokémon center…"

May blushed slightly realizing how close she was to Drew, but laughed weakly anyway. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea…"

* * *

"Here, lie down." Drew told May as she got into her bed.

"But Drew, it's still really early…" she said as she used her arms to hold her weight as she managed to sit up.

Drew shook his head. "I think it's best if you just get some rest right now. You've had a long day, you know?"

May sighed as she lowered her self back down into her bed. "Well, okay…"  
Drew smiled. "Good."

"And, are you going to go to bed now too?"

Drew shook his head. "I think I'll stay up a little longer…but, I don't think I'm going to leave the room…maybe I'll just read or something…"

May arched an eyebrow. "Read?"

Drew crossed his arms. "Yeah, you have a problem with the fact that I like to read?"

May shook her head. "Not at all! I like to read too."

Drew smirked. "You, read? Who would've thought?"

May glared at him. "You know, I'm not really in the mood right now to get insulted."

Drew sighed. "Okay, fine. Just get some sleep and feel better. That way, I can look forward to insulting you in the morning."

May sighed in an annoyed tone. "Good night, Drew." she mumbled.

Drew chuckled. "Good night, May."

May rolled her eyes as she rolled over on her side in order to face the wall, Drew sitting on the edge of his bed looking like he was deep in thought about something.

_Some magic is real…_

Drew sighed as May's words echoed through his mind.

"I sure hope she's right…" he whispered.

* * *

**There you have it. Hopefully I'll be able to update in a week so yeah. Also, I have some good news! I just started writing the sequel to this story a couple days ago! It's called, The Test of Time. I'll post that a week after this story's done. (which actually is probably going to be a long time...)**


	9. Leveling Love

**Alright, here's chapter eight. I was a little dissapointed by the lack of reviews, so I'm not updating again until I get at least five, you got that? **

**Disclaimer: Wanna here it in Spanish? No.**

_"' I knew that there had been times in the past-terrible times-when people had destroyed others in haste, in fear, and had brought about their own destruction.'"_

-The Giver

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Leveling Love **

May woke up abruptly the next day, and after looking around the room a couple of times, realized that Drew wasn't anywhere in sight. Sighing, she got out of bed and changed her clothes and what not as she made her way downstairs.

"Um, do you know where Drew is?" May asked Nurse Joy when she approached the counter, who was typing something on the computer.

"You mean the green-haired boy?" she asked turning her attention to May.

May nodded. "Yeah, him."

"I saw him leave not too long ago."

May pause for a moment. "…Leave?"

Nurse Joy nodded. "Yes. About five minutes ago, actually."

May, once hearing this, cheered up a little. "Thanks!" she said as she exited the pokemon center.

She was a little upset that Drew left without her, but if he left only five minutes ago then she knew he couldn't have gotten very far.

"May!" she heard a voice call from behind her after she had been walking for about 30 seconds.

Curious, May turned around to see a green-haired boy running towards her.

"Drew?" she asked a little surprised.

Once Dew caught up with her, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath and nodded.

"Yeah…you didn't think, that you'd, leave without me, did you?" he asked, panting in between words.

May cocked her head. "Of course not…Nurse Joy told me you left, so I went to catch up with you thinking you had just left without me."

Drew shook his head. "I left the _pokémon center_, not the town!"

May cocked her head. "Huh? Why did you leave the pokémon center?"

Drew shuddered. "I couldn't dare eat the food they serve there! I don't trust it. So, I went to a coffee shop. You were still asleep and I thought you'd throw a shoe at me if I woke you up."

May arched an eyebrow. "Wait, you went to a coffee shop?"

Drew nodded. "That's right."

"And…you didn't wake me up because you thought I would hurt you?"

Drew shrugged. "Well, you _can _be pretty violent."  
May crossed her arms. She hated it when Drew insulted her. For once, she wished they could just get along.

May sighed. 'If only…' she thought to herself sadly.

Drew getting a little concerned, waved his hand in front of May's face, snapping her out of her trance.

"May, are you in there?" he asked.

"Huh?" May asked, looking around frantically. "Are we in danger?"

Drew rolled his eyes. "You're so pathetic, you know that?"

May glared at him. "I was just thinking! Aren't I aloud to think?"

Drew chuckled. "Well, I don't know…you could hurt yourself. You don't want to end up in the hospital _again_, do you?"

May's glare deepened. "Oh be quiet! You're just so, so…ugh! Annoying!"

Drew flicked his hair. "It's my job to annoy you! If I don't, I think you'd suffer from some sort of physiological and/or mental disease of some sort. I don't think you could handle traveling all by your lonesome self anyway. You're just too dependent."

May scoffed, completely offended by the fact that Drew thought she couldn't take care of herself. "You're _so_…aggravating! Why can't you just be nice to me for once?"

Drew shrugged. "What's the fun of that? I like getting you mad!"

May put her hands on her hips. "Well, I don't like it!"

Drew laughed. "That's what makes it fun!"

May rolled her eyes, hoping the argument could just end here.

"Let's just go do something." she finally said.

Drew arched an eyebrow, wondering what this had to do with anything about what they were just talking about. "Like what?"

"Anything! Anything at all!"

Drew looked around before turning back to May. "Well, there's this guy here who makes pokéballs outta apricorns…"

May crossed her arms. "I already have pokéballs!"

Drew shook his head. "You don't understand…Johto is the only place where you can get these special kinds of balls."

May cocked her head, a little more interested. "Special?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah, this guy is like, one of the only people who know how to make these balls. He lives in this town, so why don't we go see him?"

May frowned. "That's great and all, but we don't have any apricorns."

Drew put his left hand in his pocket. "He has a bunch of apricorns in his backyard. I'm sure if we ask him, he'd let is use those."

May sighed, defeated. "Well, okay…"

* * *

"So, is this the place?" May asked, tilting her head to the side a little bit.

"Um, yeah…know how I know?" Drew asked.

May shook her head. "I give up.

"You can tell because there's a sign saying that this guy makes pokéballs…how much clearer can you get?" Drew asked, glancing over at May questionably.

May rolled her eyes. "Whatever, can we just go inside?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah."

Both May and Drew entered the house, to see an old man resting on a cerulean chair and a young boy sitting on the rug in front of the chair with his legs crossed, watching the television intently.

"Um, excuse me?" May asked as politely as possible, trying to get the boy's attention.

The boy, after what seemed like 10 minutes, finally tore himself away from the television and looked at his two visitors expectantly.

"Can I help you?" he asked getting up from the jade-colored rug.

"Um, yeah…we'd like some pokéballs." Drew said, walking over to the boy with May close behind.

The boy smiled brightly and nodded.

"Okay!" he exclaimed. "Do you have any apricorns?"

May shook her head slowly. "No, we don't…"  
Drew nodded. "Yeah, we were kindda hoping to use some of yours…"  
The boy nodded. "Sure, we have tons! Follow me!" he said, leading the two coordinators into his backyard.

"Whoa!" May cried, observing the size of the area and all of the trees covered in various colored apricorns.

"There are so many!" Drew observed, looking around as well.

The boy smiled. "Uh-huh! My grandpa and I worked hard to grow everything! It took years!"

May looked at Drew unsurely after hearing this statement. "It took years? Drew, maybe we shouldn't take any…I mean, it sound like they worked really hard to grow them all…"

The boy laughed. "No! The only reason we grew them was for trainers who didn't have apricorns, like you guys!"

Drew nodded to show he understood and turned towards May. "See, May? It's okay to take them!"

May looked down at the ground and sighed. "If you say so…"

"So, did you have any kind of pokéball in mind?" the boy asked, running a little further into the backyard.

"Oh! What about a pink apricorn? What do those do?" May asked once spotting the pink fruits, obviously excited by their color.

Drew gave May a concerning look before merely rolling his eyes, not able to believe the stupidity of his traveling partner.

"Oh, these?" the boy said, pointing to the tree he was standing under, which was covered with at least a hundred pink apricorns.

May nodded happily. "Yeah, those!"

"Well, these make love balls!"

May cocked her head, as did Drew. "Love balls?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah! It makes pokémon from a different gender than yours easier to capture!"

May smiled. "Wow! I don't completely understand what that means, but can I have one anyway because it's pink?"

The boy laughed. "Sure!" he said taking out a pokéball.

"Go, Chikorita!" he cried, throwing the pokéball, which revealed a light green pokémon with a leaf attached to its head.

"Chika!" it said happily.

"Chikorita, use razor leaf to get that apricorn!"

Chikorita nodded and released many dark green leaves by swinging its own around, which eventually managed to cut one of the pink apricorns down.

The boy smiled satisfied as he picked it up and turned to his Chikorita.

"Good job, Chikorita! Return!" he said, sucking his pokémon back in with a red light.

"Wow it's so beautiful!" May exclaimed, snatching the apricorn from the boy's hands before he got the chance to give it to her.

Drew crossed his arms looking very irritated.

"And what about me?" he asked arching an eyebrow.

The boy smiled. "Alright, which one of these apricorns _would_ you like?"

Drew looked around, studying each different color carefully, staying very quiet until he finally turned back to the boy.

"Hmm, what about the red apricorns?" he asked.

The boy ran under a tee where some red apricorns grew.

"These? Well, they make level balls! Level balls make it easier to capture pokémon with lower levels than your own."

Drew put his hand on his chin and pondered this information for a moment.

"Well…sure…let's go with that one." he said after thinking it over for about a minute.

This tree was much shorter, so the boy just merely jumped to get the apricorn. It took a few tries, but he finally managed to hit one causing it to fall to the ground.

"Here!" he said picking up the apricorn and handing it to Drew, who gladly accepted it.

"Thanks." Drew said.

The boy smiled. "No problem! Now, let's go back inside so my grandpa can make those into balls!"

May and Drew nodded as they followed the boy back into his house.

His grandpa was up by now, and was doing something in the kitchen.

"Hey, Grandpa!" the boy called.

The old man turned around once hearing his name. "Yes?" he asked arching an eyebrow.

"These trainers want some pokéballs! Will you make them some?"

The old man smiled. "Of course!" he said walking over to them. "May I have your apricorns?"

May and Drew smiled as they handed the man the apricorns they just got.

"This might take a little while…why don't you to sit down and make yourselves comfortable while I'm working? And come on, Mark. You can help me if you want."

The boy nodded. "Okay!" he answered excitedly, following the old man into another room.

Once they were gone, Drew sighed as he took a seat on the couch, and May soon joined him once she finished gazing out the window.

"So…where are we going next?" May asked as she turned to Drew, who was looking down at the floor, appearing to be deep in thought.

"I don't know…" he said. "I guess Goldenrod, that's the closest place."

"Goldenrod, huh?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah, and it's a good thing that's our next stop too."

May cocked her head. "And why is that?"

Drew paused. "Well, we're out of supplies and food and everything. And Goldenrod has the biggest market in the whole Johto region. It's famous for all of its huge malls and stuff."

May raised her eyebrows. "Malls?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah."

May smiled. "I love malls! We need to go shopping!"

Drew arched an eyebrow. "I have no intention on wasting my time shopping for all the pointless things you're planning on buying."

May shook her head. "I don't really like to buy things. I'd rather just window shop or browse or something."

Drew crossed his arms. "So…you get entertainment at just looking at things?"

May nodded. "Yeah! It's a lot more fun than it sounds! Plus, we could buy things too! Shopping can be fun!"

Drew sighed a little annoyed. "Yeah, maybe in a girl's eyes. But to a guy…"

"Oh come on, Drew! Have some fun!"

Drew sighed. "Well…maybe we could go shopping for clothes…I mean, if I'm going to take you out to a restaurant; you're not going to be wearing _that_."

May nodded. "Okay! Maybe I can get a new outfit, too!"

Drew nodded slowly. "Sure…" he said, still regretting the fact that he had just agreed to go shopping with May.

"I could buy jewelry too!" May exclaimed happily.

Drew cringed. 'What have I gotten myself into?' he thought to himself.

"Hey!" Mark cried running back into the room.

"Hey." Drew said. "Did you finish?"

Mark nodded. "Uh-huh!"

The boy then turned his attention to the doorway.

"Come on, grandpa!" he called.

A few moments later, the old man walked into the room, a pokéball in each hand.

"A love ball for you…" he said placing the pink pokéball in May's hands. "And a level ball for you." he said placing the red pokéball in Drew's hands.

May and Drew looked down at their new pokéballs satisfied and then turned their attention back to the old man.

"Thank you!" they said in unison bowing their heads.

The man smiled. "No problem! You kids come back anytime now!"

May laughed. "We will!"

Mark smiled. "Good luck on your journey!"

Drew chuckled. "Thanks."

The old man and Mark waved as May and Drew left, returning to the pokémon center.

* * *

"We'll head out tomorrow." Drew said, lying down on his bed.

May nodded. "Okay! The sooner we get to that shopping place the better!"

Drew rolled his eyes. He had forgotten about that…

"Yeah, well…goodnight." he said turning off the light.

May laughed. "Night, Drew!"

* * *

**There you have it. I'm so glad I'm done with this town! I really don't like Azalea Town...ah well! Review please! (or I won't update )**


	10. Piercing Thorns

**Sorry I havn't updated in a while...I've been really busy with school and crap. Also, I'v been having a bit of writer's block lately...I mean, I just realized after looking at a map of Johto that there is no forest between Violet City and Azalea town, but there _is _one between Azalea Town and Goldenrod City. So, I had to write about them in a forest...again. Anyway, here's chapter nine.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon...

* * *

**

**Chapter Nine: Piercing Thorns**

The next morning, May woke up to find that Drew was still asleep. Smiling, she went into the bathroom to change and then decided to go downstairs to grab something to eat before they left, knowing Drew probably wouldn't be hungry anyways.

Once May had finished her breakfast, she went back to her room, where Drew was already dressed and staring thoughtfully out the window.

"Ready to go?" he asked, not looking away form the view the window had to offer.

May nodded slowly. "Yeah, ready when you are…"

Drew nodded as well as he finally broke his gaze, turning his attention to May. "Well, then…let's go."

* * *

After saying their goodbyes to Nurse Joy as well as Mark (who happened to be running about the streets), they headed out towards he Ilex Forest hoping to make it to Goldenrod by the end of the week.

"Are you sure this is going to take a_ whole_ week?" May asked once they got inside the forest, a bored expression upon her face.

Drew sighed, clearly irritated by May's constant whining, but nodded anyway. "Yes May, I'm positive."

"Well, isn't there like, a shortcut or something?"

Drew rolled his eyes. "No way. The last time we tried that stunt, we got lost. I don't want that to happen again. This time, we're going to follow the road like normal people."

May frowned. "But we're not normal! Please can we take a shortcut?"

"No."

May crossed her arms, upset that they always had to do things _Drew's_ way.

'Drew's not _always_ right…' she thought angrily to herself, trailing behind the green-haired coordinator as he continued to follow the conveniently placed dirt path.

"You've been real quiet…" Drew stated after about a half hour went by.

May shrugged. "Well what's the point of talking if you're not going to listen to what I have to say?"

Drew stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm sorry May, could you repeat that? I wasn't listening."

May clenched her fist. "That's not funny, Drew!"

Drew smirked. "You have _no_ idea."

Glaring at the boy, May simply decided to turn her head the other way and ignore him instead of insulting him. I mean, there was really no point for them to argue anyway.

"Well, can we at least stop for something to eat?" she asked, looking at Drew hopefully.

Drew shook his head. "Sorry, May. We only have a limited amount of food to last us through the forest. I'm not wasting it unless we really get hungry."

May's eyes widened. "What? But I _am_ really hungry!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "I mean like, 'I think I'm going to collapse over and die of starvation' kind of hungry."

May frowned. "That's so unfair…" she muttered.

Drew shrugged. "Life's unfair. Get over it."

May sighed, knowing she couldn't disagree with Drew there. She knew they had to save that food, but still…she was just _so _hungry.

"Well, when can we eat?" she asked.

Drew sighed as he gave it some thought.

"If you stop whining, maybe I'll give you something to eat tonight." he answered after a moment.

May was about to protest, but figured that Drew's word was final. If she complained just once, she wouldn't be able to eat for the _whole _day. She just couldn't even dream of risking that.

* * *

"Um, which way now?" May asked as she questionably scanned the fork in the road observing both paths.

Drew shrugged. "I don't know…why don't you pick the way?"

May smiled. "Okay, let's go right! That okay with you, Drew?"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Like I have a choice?"

May nodded. "True."

Drew sighed. "Can we just get outta here?"

May crossed her arms. "Fine, you lead the way."

Drew looked up at May. "What? Why do_ I_ have to lead?"

"Because _I_ picked the way."

Drew frowned. "Fine…I'll lead…"

May smiled brightly. "Yay! Thanks Drew!"

Drew sighed a little annoyed and put his right hand into his pocket.

"Yeah…don't mention it…" he mumbled.

May sighed as they began to start walking again.

"This is so boring…can we please take a shortcut _now_?" she asked.

Drew glared at her. "I already said no, May."

"But I need food!"

"Shut up May!"

"No! I'm going to take a shortcut!"

Drew arched an eyebrow as he watched May storm off the path and into the wildlife.

After carefully considering the situation, Drew just sighed, making his way into the woods as well.

"That girl is nothing but trouble…" he muttered.

* * *

"Um…I think we should go this way." May said, pointing to the right of herself.

Drew sighed. "You have no idea where we are, do you?"

May hesitated for a moment but shook her head slowly.

"I don't…" she admitted softly.

Drew nodded. "Okay then…maybe we should just go back the way we came on the path."

"Uh, which way did we come?" May asked.

Pausing, Drew took a look around before facing May once more.

"I thought you knew…" he said.

"Oh, I hate the forest! All we ever do is get lost!" May cried.

Drew crossed his arms. "Well, maybe we wouldn't get lost so often if you'd actually stick to the path and be patient!"

May frowned. "It's not my fault that I'm hungry and want to get outta this place and grab something decent to eat!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "No! You just so happen to be hungry ever second of your life!"

"I am not!"

"You are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Ugh! I'm leaving!"

Drew glared at May as she went deeper into the forest, angrily shoving away the branches that got in her way.

"He's so aggravating! I don't understand why he's like this towards me…" May mumbled, taking a seat on a tree stump.

"I guess wishing that we could just get along is like asking for a miracle…" she whispered sadly.

"Hey May!" Drew called.

May sighed as she looked behind her, able to see Drew over the horizon coming near her.

"What do you want?" May asked arching an eyebrow when Drew had caught up with her.

Drew smiled slightly as he sat down next to May.

"I'm here to make sure you don't kill yourself." he answered simply.

May frowned. "What are you talking about? I can take care of myself."

Drew put his right hand into his pocket. "You sure about that?"

May's frown deepened. "Huh? Of course I'm sure!"

Drew shrugged. "I just don't want you to hurt yourself. We have to stick together, understand?"

May nodded slowly looking towards the ground. "I understand…"

Drew nodded as well. "Good. Now, let's find a way out of this place."

May smiled. "Okay."

* * *

"Hey Drew, look over there!" May exclaimed pointing directly in front of them.

May and Drew had been traveling for a good amount of time trying to find the road without much success.

Arching an eyebrow, Drew turned his attention to what May was pointing at and his eyes widened.

Thorns. There was a complete wall of thorns. They spread to as tall as the tree themselves and as wide as the eye could see.

Drew looked at the mess a little uneasily. "Maybe we should go back the way we came…"

May shook her head. "This is the only way, Drew."

Drew frowned. "Well, couldn't we just walk along them until we find an opening…?"

May once again shook her head. "That'll take to long, and we don't have that kind of time."

"Um, yes we do. I'd rather starve then bleed to death…"

May rolled here eyes. "Come on, Drew. It can't be that bad."

Drew shook his head. "Debatable…"

May smiled. "Well, how about I go first to make sure it's safe? Then, if it is, we pass. If not, well, we just try to get around it some how."

Drew frowned. "Um, maybe it's better if I try it first…"

May cocked her head. "What? Why?"

Drew shook his head. "Just because…"

May frowned. "Well, if you insist…"

Drew nodded as he carefully approached the thorns, observing them closely.

'What have I gotten myself into?' he thought to himself, looking unsurely at the wall.

Drew took a deep breath. 'Oh well…it's better than having May hurt herself…'

May put one hand on her hip as Drew began to slowly and cautiously spread apart the thorns, trying his best to not make contact with the tips.

"Be careful…" May called.

Drew said nothing as he continued to make his way through the wall, using his jacket to take the hit of some thorns when necessary.

By now May was tapping her foot impatiently, her hunger starting to get the best of her.

"Could you try to hurry it up?" she asked.

Drew rolled his eyes. "I'm going as fast as I can."

May crossed her arms. "I bet I could already be on the other side by now…" she mumbled.

Ignoring May, Drew grabbed a stem a little frustrated by her behavior and as he took another step, his arm brushed up against one of the thorns, causing it to bleed slightly.

"Damn it…" Drew muttered at the sudden jolt of pain, but decided to shake it off for now feeling as though getting May through this wall safely was his number one priority at the moment.

"Are you there yet?" May asked who was looking off into another direction with a bored expression upon her face.

Drew frowned as he pushed aside the last of the tangled thorns and sighed deeply of relief when he finally had made it to the other side.

"Okay, I cleared a path. Now you can go through." he said, having his eyes meet May's.

"Right." she said, nodding to show she understood as she began making her way through the cleared path in the wall.

Unlike Drew, she managed to make it to the other side much more quickly due to the fact that everything had been cleared for her benefit.

Breathing heavily, Drew turned his attention to what lied on this side of the wall and smiled slightly.

"Look, May…" he said weakly.

Cocking her head, she too examined her surroundings and smiled brightly.

"It's the road!" she exclaimed.

Drew nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

Hearing the tone of his voice, May looked back to Drew and frowned.

"Hey, are you feeling okay? You don't sound too good…"

Drew shook his head. "I-I'm fine, May. Really…"

May stared at the boy with great concern.

"But you look like you're going to collapse…"she whispered.

Drew frowned, grasping his wound from the thorn earlier.

"I-Is that what's wrong?" May asked. "Is that cut infected or something?"

Drew shook his head. "I've gotten infections before…all they do is hurt…this, well…I feel kind of faint…"

"W-What?" May asked.

"I feel…faint…" Drew repeated once more, falling to his knees.

"Drew!" May cried, bending down by his side. "W-What's wrong?"

Drew shook his head slowly. "I don't know…" he said softly, lying on his back and closing his eyes.

"D-Drew…?" she asked shaking his slightly. "Drew, wake up!"

She continued to shake him, but this time a little more violently but failed to get him to even open his eyes.

"Don't worry, Drew…you're going to be okay…" she said softly as she got to her feet and wiped a tear that escaped her eyes. "I promise…"

* * *

**There you have it! Also, if you ever want to know why I'm late for an update or something like that, you can check out my profile. It has all the news about my stories and stuff. Well, review!**


	11. Pure Insanity

**Okay, I'm wicked sorru I havn't updated in a while. I've been really busy lately...xX Also, I havn't had the best day, i just recenty got into a car accident earlier and I didn;t have time to proof read this becasue my sister's been bugging for me to get off for the past 20 minutes. Also, there might be some times when they're in the mall where the story gets kind of _out there_ so yeah...You've ben warned...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon becasue my friend said so...

* * *

**

**Chapter Ten: Pure Insanity**

**Drew's POV**

Groaning slightly, I opened my eyes to be blinded by light, forcing me to squint until my vision adapted. Once that happened, I widened my eyes as my body soared through the thin condensation, the icy cold water settling on my face.

I smiled, for the cloud cooled off my body after it had overheated before.

'Wait…' I thought, a puzzling expression upon my face. 'Cloud…?'

Turning around, I saw the snow white cloud glowing proudly as the sun's rays shined down, and a little uneasily, I slowly turned my attention to what was below me, and gasped in both fear and shock.

I must have been 2,000, no, 3,000, no-ugh! I just kept getting higher and higher and the air kept getting colder and colder.

I then turned my attention to what was above me as I passed through the Earth's atmospheres and was greeted by a new deep blue sky, this one shimmering with stars.

"I wonder how I can breathe…" I asked my self, looking down at the Earth.

The whole Earth was now visible, and I could see the where the sun's rays hit down on its surface, the other side blanketed with shadows.

"It's so blue, and so amazing…" I said aloud, admiring the planet in which I had always taken for granted.

'I wish May could see this…' I thought with a sigh.

All of the sudden though, a bright light flashed once more, this one covering my whole body, completely blinding me and I felt myself slowly lose consciousness…

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes and cringed as I felt a slight pain jolt through my arm.

"Oh, thank god you're awake!" I heard May say.

Struggling a little, I managed to sit up and scanned my surroundings.

'Was it all just a dream?' I thought, turning my attention to May.

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

May shrugged. "About two hours, three at the most."

I frowned. "That long?"

May nodded. "Yeah…"

I sighed, getting to my feet and looked back at my arm to see if the mark was till there. But instead of a scar, there was some sort of red cloth wrapped around it.

"W-What's this?" I asked.

May smiled. "That's my bandana."

"Why is your bandana wrapped around my arm?"

"Well, I found out that these particular thorns happen to be poisonous, and could in fact kill humans. So, since I really don't want you dead, I healed it."

I blinked. "You did? How?"

May shook her head. "That's not important right now. We should really focus on getting out of here."

I nodded in agreement. "Right."

* * *

"Hey, May! Check this out!" I called.

May smiled as she headed in my direction. "It's Goldenrod City!"

I nodded. "Yeah, let's go before one of us gets hurt again."

May nodded as well as she followed me into the city.

"It's so big!" she admired, spinning around in a circle.

I laughed. May was so carefree, she reminded me of a little kid. She _had _matured, but it was just her spirit. She didn't have a worry in the world…

"Well, we should probably check into a hotel." I said.

May stared at me questionably. "A hotel?"

I nodded. "Yeah, remember? I said we'd stay at a hotel in this town."

May smiled. "Oh yeah! I remember now."

"Uh-huh. First we just need to find one."

"Well, how hard could a hotel be to find?"

"Not very."

"Then I guess we just walk around until we find one."

"Okay."

* * *

"Hey, here's a hotel!" May pointed out.

I smiled as I scanned the building.

"Yeah, this'll do." I said.

May laughed as she ran into the hotel, me trailing behind.

"Hello?" May called as she approached the counter.

"Here, try ringing the bell." I suggested pointing at the silver bell.

May nodded. "Okay." she said as she began to tap lightly on the tip of the bell.

"Coming!" said a voice and a few moments later a woman made he way over to them.

"What can I do for you?" she asked.

"We'd like a room, please." I said.

The woman nodded. "Okay."

After filling out some information, we finally got the key to our room and made our way upstairs.

"Well, here we are." I said as I unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Wow, this is really nice!" May exclaimed, observing the room.

I shrugged. "Better than a pokémon center."

May smiled. "Definitely."

I sighed as I took a seat on one of the beds.

"Okay, May. What do you want to do now?"

May laughed. "You said we could go shopping, 'member?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah…"

"Well let's go already!" May said taking my arm and dragging me outside the hotel.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

"Whoa, it's _huge_!" May gasped, looking straight up at the many floors.

Drew shrugged. "Like I said, this place is famous for its large malls and what not. People from all over come here just to shop."

May, not paying much attention to Drew, giggled as she ran through the automatic doors as Drew sighed deeply, regrettably beginning to follow her in.

* * *

"Okay, where do you want to go first?" May asked overly excited. It was obvious she hadn't gone shopping in quite a long time.

Drew sighed. "I don't care, let's just make this quick."

May laughed as she shook her head. "You can't be serious!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Debatable."

May laughed once more as she took Drew by the arm.

"Here, let's try this place first!" she exclaimed, dragging him into an Abercrombie and Fitch.

* * *

Once Drew's body entered the boundaries of the store, everything got dark; the only light was coming from blinding multi-color flashes.

The walls were covered with large posters of half naked people and the heads of different types of dead animals.

And to make matters worse, the music, which was some sort of crappy rap or pop, blasted through out the whole store, making Drew feel like his ears were about to start bleeding at any moment.

In fact, he was surprised this place hadn't been put under any charges yet.

"MAY, WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!" Drew yelled, trying to get himself heard over the booming speakers.

May, who had a goofy smile on her face, looked around before hearing Drew's voice.

"YES IT IS A LOVELY DAY TODAY!" May yelled back, obviously unable to understand Drew over the music.

Drew rolled his eyes. He _was _in fact able to understand May, for her voice was much stronger; it was able to pierce right through the rhythm of the tune.

"OH MY GOD CHECK OUT THIS SUPER CUTE PINK TANG TOP!" bellowed a girl, most likely a prep.

May and Drew turned around to see a party of at least 10 preps, all of them huddling around a clothing rack of tang tops.

Once hearing the first prep's statement, the others all squealed excitedly as they all started violently grabbing the shirts, shoving one another as they cursed at each other insanely.

"OH AND IT'S ONLY 200 DOLLARS!" the same prep as before screamed, the other preps giggling insanely.

"THAT'S SOOOO CHEAP! WE ALL NEED TO TOTALLY BUY IT SO WE CAN BE WALKING BILLBOARDS!" squealed another prep.

All the preps cheered, sprinting over to the cashier who had a creepy smiled plastered on her face as she waved slowly.

"Hello…" she said slowly with the same creepy smiled which never appeared to leave her face.

"MAY, CAN WE GET OUT OF HERE?" Drew yelled louder than before so May could here him better, which luckily she did.

"OKAY, FINE!" she replied rolling her eyes as they both exited the store.

* * *

"That was creepy…" Drew said breathing heavily.

May shrugged. "It wasn't _that _bad…"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Beg to differ."

May laughed. "Oh well, next store!"

Drew frowned. "Okay, but this time _I'm _picking where we go next."

May crossed her arms. "Oh, okay…"

Drew smiled. "Good. Now, how about that one?" he asked, stopping when the came across and EBGames.

May blinked. "Sure, why not?"

* * *

"This place looks boring…" May groaned, scanning the many shelves of video games as well as the systems they were made fore.

Drew shrugged. "It's not that bad in here…why don't you buy something?"

May sighed. "Fine." she answered unfazed as she made her way over to the Game Cube section.

As May was busying herself with that, Drew found himself drawn to the Nintendo Wii they had out on display.

"Hey Drew, how about this one?" May asked holding up a game.

"Yeah, sure…" Drew answered, not even looking in May's general direction.

"Huh? What are you looking at Drew?" May asked cocking her head slightly.

"Check it out." Drew said, pointing to the gaming system.

"What is it?"

"A Nintendo Wii."

May smiled brightly. "It looks like fun! Can I try?"

Drew shrugged. "Why not?"

May laughed as she ran over to it. "How does it work?"

"I'll show you." said Drew, picking up the controller and turning it on.

The Nintendo Wii started up, and took Drew straight to the game since it was only a demo.

"Oh, it's tennis!" May exclaimed.

Drew arched an eyebrow. "You have something against tennis?"

May smiled and shook her head. "No."

Drew nodded. "Alright, good. First of all, this system is interactive. You swing the controller as though it were a real racket."

"That's really cool!"

"Yeah it is."

"Then what?"

"Then you play the game…"

"Oh, I knew that!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Of course you did…"

May giggled. "Continue."

Drew nodded as he started the match, swinging the controller when the ball got to his side of the court.

"Whoa, can I have a turn now?" May asked.

Drew smiled slightly as he handed the controller to May, who gladly accepted it.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Drew asked, a little unsure about this.

May smiled brightly. "How hard could it be?"

Drew crossed his arms as May began to play, violently swinging as though she was trying to knock out some kind of killer.

"May, calm down." Drew said, taking a step back figuring that May wouldn't listen.

May ignored Drew, becoming more frustrated at the fact that she couldn't hit the ball until she ended up chucking it at the screen, shattering it all over the maroon carpet.

"Oops…" May said, quietly putting a hand over her mouth as Drew stood there in shock.

All of the sudden, a bunch of Japanese men in grey suits came crawling out from under the front desk, as a woman with a creepy smile gradually rose up waving slowly.

* * *

"That was uncalled for…" drew said as they roamed the mall once more.

May nodded in agreement. "It sure was…"

Drew shrugged. "Oh well. Where to next?"

"Well, I need a new hat…how about that hat store?"

"Okay."

* * *

"Look at all the hats!" May exclaimed once she entered the store.

"Um…it's a hat store" Drew stated.

May laughed. "I'm going to pick one out!"

Drew rolled his eyes as he watched May disappear within the stacks of hats.

A little while later, May came back with the same bandana she had on before, only it was lime green.

"I'm sooo out there!" May said, spinning around in circles so she could show it off.

"It looks exactly the same…" Drew said.

May frowned. "No it doesn't! I'm going to buy it!"

"Have fun."

May giggled as she ran up to the cashier, who was waving slowly with a big creepy smile plastered to her face.

"Hello…" she said slowly.

May smiled. "Hi Mary!" she said after taking a look at the tag on her shirt that read, "My name isn't Mary'.

The cashier said nothing and continued to wave.

"Um, I'd like to buy this bandana…" May said, handing the bandana to her.

Mary's smile grew bigger as she snatched the bandana and quickly ducked beneath the desk, producing sounds that sounded like a drunk dolphin that was trapped inside a cement truck.

"Are you okay?" May asked feeling a little concerned.

The cashier finally rose with the bandana folded neatly in a plastic bag and handed it to her.

May laughed nervously. "Thanks…" she said as she walked out the door, Drew following.

* * *

"I'm sooo out there!" May said, spinning around to show off her new shoes.

"They look exactly the same…" Drew said as he tried on his new shoes which were white.

May frowned. "No! They're different colors! I'm going to buy it!"

"Have fun…wait, I need to buy mine too."

May and Drew both approached the cashier, who was waving slowly with a creepy smile on her face.

"Hello…" she said slowly.

May arched an eyebrow. "Aren't you the same—"

"No…"

Drew shook his head. "Whatever, let's just buy these."

May nodded a little uneasily. "Okay…"

* * *

"Alright, can we try to go some place _normal_ this time?" Drew asked a little irritated.

May nodded. "Sure, why don't you pick the place?"

"Gladly. How about that Sears?"

"Fine with me."

* * *

"HEY LOOK A SLIDE!" May exclaimed happily when the entered the store.

Drew arched an eyebrow as he followed May over to the red slide.

"Um, May? You do know this slide is for two year olds…right?"

May laughed as she climbed the one step up and took a seat at the top.

"Here I go!" she said pushing herself off. "WHEEEE!" she cried, her hands in the air as she slowly went down, only to snap it in half once she got about ¾ of the way down.

Drew rolled his eyes as May got to her feet and dusted herself off.

"My bad!" she giggled putting her hand over her mouth.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" an arranged voice yelled.

Drew arched an eyebrow as a large man came into view, the word 'manager' plastered to his shirt.

"I broke the slide!" May said happily, as Drew slapped his forehead.

"GET OUTTA MY SORE!"

May laughed as she ran towards the exit, Drew behind her.

* * *

"We need to get formal clothes." Drew stated.

May arched an eyebrow. "What, why?"

"Because, the restaurant we're going to his _formal._ Therefore, we wear formal clothing."

May rolled her eyes. "Oh okay…"

Drew smiled. "Good. Now how about we go in there?"

May sighed. "Sure."

* * *

"Alright, once we get our clothes we'll meet back here." Drew explained.

May nodded. "Got it." she said going off in dome direction with Drew going in the opposite.

_An hour later…_

Drew crossed his arms as he tapped his foot, impatiently waiting for May.

"Where is she?" he wondered out loud.

"Sorry I took so long!" May apologized, running over to where Drew was waiting for her.

Drew frowned. "What took so long?"

May smiled brightly. "I had to pick out the perfect dress!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Okay, whatever, let's just go someplace else…"

* * *

"Okay, my turn to pick a place!" May said excitedly.

Drew frowned. "Okay…where do you want to go?"

"Spencers!"

Drew arched an eyebrow. "Spencers?"

May nodded. "Yeah!"

* * *

"It's dark in here!" May stated happily.

"No kidding…"

May giggled, ignoring Drew, and ran over to a bunch of T-Shirts on display.

Drew walked through the store slowly, scanning all the items within it, a slightly disturbed look upon his face.

After Drew got the basic idea of what this place was about, he went over to May, who was staring at the T-Shirts with a smile on her face.

"I don't get it!" she said happily.

Drew arched an eyebrow as he stared at the shirt, which had some sort pf perverted remark on it.

"Um, May?"

"Yeah?"

"I think we should get out of here…"

* * *

Drew sighed. "What store are you planning to torture me in now?"

May paused as she pondered on it for a moment.

"Oh, I know! That toy store!"

Drew frowned. "A toy store? You _must_ be joking."

May shook her head. "Nope!"

Drew's frown deepened. "Well, okay…"

* * *

"LOOK A BUCKET OF TENNIS BALLS!" May exclaimed excitedly.

"You're easily amused, aren't you?"

May laughed as she ran over to the bucket.

Drew sighed as he turned around to see what this store had on sail, when his train of thought was interrupted.

"Catch!"

**_(Wham!) _**Drew cringed as the tennis ball that had just hit his back fell to the floor, bouncing a few times before finally coming to a stop.

"What was _that _for?" Drew asked angrily, turning over to glare at May.

May giggled. "It's not my fault you suck at catching!"

Drew clenched his fist as he made his way over to May, but was stopped when a woman stepped in his way.

A familiar woman…

…Mary to be exact.

"What the hell? Why are you in _every _store?" Drew demanded, frustrated that she had gotten in his way.

"No violence…" she said slowly with that _same creepy smile_. "Or I might just have to get my squirt gun…"

"Why you little--"

"Squirt, squirt!" Mary said, a small stream of water coming from the squirt gun which she obtained from absolutely no where.

"Um, it's not even hitting me…" Drew said.

"Look how wet you are…"

Drew arched an eyebrow as he suddenly took May by the hand and led her out the store, and out of the mall as well.

* * *

"Hey, why'd we leave the mall?" May questioned still being dragged by Drew.

"This place isn't normal." Drew mumbled.

May frowned as they stopped in front of their hotel.

"Well, we're here." Drew stated.

"Um, Drew?"

"Yeah?"

"You're still holding my hand…"

Drew blushed as he looked down, finding that May was right.

"O-Oh, sorry…" he said letting go of May, who was also a glowing a shade of red by now.

"It's okay…" she said softly. "Um, but we better get inside…"

Drew nodded. "R-Right…"

Drew and May then went inside the hotel, and up to their room shutting the door behind them.

* * *

**There you have it! The next chapter is when they go out to eat, and I don't know when the next time I'll be able to update...but anyways, review!**


	12. The Golden Pearl

**I'm baaaack! Heh, I know I said I'd postpone it til July 1st but I got this chapter done early so I figured I'd post it now. I mean, I'****ve had you people wait long enough Anyway, a couple of you asked questions about May's kidnap. Just to let you know, she _is_ getting kidnapped and in about...umm, either three or four chapters. I can't remember right now...But yeah, I apologize for postponing! I really am sorry! So without further adu -- I give you chapter eleven!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: The Golden Pearl**

Drew sighed deeply as he walked through the abandoned hallway. The walls were cracked and faded and the floor was covered in a thin layer of dust. The hallway seemed to be getting sufficiently wider as he went along, but the pure darkness that was at the end continued to remain. Drew stopped though when he came across a door and pressed his ear lightly on its surface as he listened to the voices that were on the other side.

"I can just end it right here!" a masculine voice stated.

"Why would you even _think _of doing something like that?" scolded a feminine voice.

"Think of all the pain I could ease!"

"Whose pain?! Mine?!" I—"

"Shhhh!"

"What now?!"

"I'm afraid this conversation is no longer private…"

The voices then stopped and Drew could hear their footsteps against the wooden floor coming closer to the doorway.

Panicking, Drew tried to think of something to do, but before he had time to think, he heard the door slowly creak open…

* * *

Drew yawned lazily as he sat up in his bed and scanned his surroundings. 

"Great, another dream…" he groaned.

He then turned his attention to the clock, which read 12:01.

"Damn, I over slept!" Drew cursed, quickly sitting up and scurrying around trying to collect all of his attire.

The bathroom door then opened up to reveal May, who was fully dressed and was finishing up by tying on her bandana.

"Oh, good morning Drew!" May said brightly as she walked over to him.

Drew shook his head. "Mornings aren't good. Not to me…"

May shrugged. "They're not for most people. But then again, you kinda over slept this morning…"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Thanks for reminding me…"

"You're welcome!"

Drew sighed as he finished gathering his things and stood up.

"I'm going to change…" he said as he made his way to the bathroom.

May just stood there for a moment until the door locked shot, and then she found herself drawn to the window and gazed out its panels.

* * *

Flashback

* * *

"_Drew, hey Drew!" May called as she continued running towards the green-haired coordinator._

_Drew stopped for a moment, but he didn't look back._

"_I' m glad I caught up with you!" May panted as she approached him from behind._

_Drew paused for a moment before finally turning around._

"_Hey, May." he greeted putting one hand in his pocket. "Couldn't get enough of me, could you?"_

_May blushed a deep scarlet and pressed the rose he had given to her earlier to her face in her attempt to hide it._

"_N-no! It's just, I was wondering if I could ask you something…"_

_Drew said nothing for a moment as he observed the young girl's expression before nodding._

"_Sure, May. What is it?"_

"_Well, I, um…the roses…w-were they really for Beautifly?"_

_Drew raised his eyebrows as he gave May his full attention and took his hand out of his pocket._

"_Well…?" May asked cocking her head._

_Drew smiled softly as he pulled a deep red rose out of no where and held it out to May, who accepted it with a confused expression upon her face._

"

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

May jumped back a little startled when she noticed a hand waving in front of her face. 

"Earth to May!" said a voice she recognized to be Drew's.

May laughed nervously as she took a step back.

"Heh, Hi Drew…"

"What were you even thinking about?" he asked crossing his arms.

May blushed a pale pink which was barley noticeable. "O-oh nothing…"

Drew's frown deepened. "I highly doubt that, but since I guess it's none of my business, I'll stop questioning it."

May smiled slightly. "Thank you."

Drew shrugged. "No problem. Well, we still have a lot of time to kill before our reservation…what would you like to do until then?"

May put her hand on her chin and pondered on it for a moment before smiling brightly.

"I would like to draw."

Drew arched an eyebrow. "Draw? Are you serious?"

May nodded. "Yeah, I love to draw! You can draw with me!"

Drew shook his head. "Uh, I'm not much of an artist…"

"You don't have to draw a masterpiece of perfection to be an artist! You can draw a line and it could be considered art!"

"Really?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, as long as it means something to you or expresses some sort of emotion."

Drew nodded. "Oh, I get it. Fine, we can draw if that's what you want to do."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

* * *

"Wow, I think this has to be the worst thing I've ever drawn in my entire life…" Drew stated staring at his artwork in disbelief. 

Drew then looked upwards and shook his head. "Then again, that isn't really saying much at all since I don't exactly draw all the time…"

May giggled as she put down her pencil and laughed satisfied with her art.

"All done!" she cheered as she held the art close to her.

"Can I see it?" Drew asked cocking his head.

May frowned as she looked over at Drew and then back down at her artwork.

"I don't know…" she muttered turning her attention back at Drew.

"Oh, come one May!"

May sighed deeply and shook her head.

"If you don't mind, I think I'd rather keep this one to myself…"

Drew frowned as he blew some hair that was dangling in front of his face so he could see better.

"Well, okay…"

May smiled. "Thanks for being so understanding. I envy that about you."

Drew arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

May nodded. "Yeah, I'm so impatient and curious I forget about the fact that people don't want me to do something for a reason, and I usually end up annoying the crap out of them."

Drew shrugged. "Being curious isn't a bad thing. I think it's great to always want to explore and find new places and discover new things."

May smiled. "Ya think so?"

Drew nodded. "I do."

May giggled as she looked back down at her artwork before stowing it in her backpack.

"What do you want to do now?" she asked turning her attention back to Drew.

Drew shrugged. "I could care less. Why don't you decide?"

May frowned as she pondered on something they could do but nothing seemed to come to mind.

"I got nothing." May finally admitted.

Drew sighed. "I guess for now all we can do is wait then."

May nodded in agreement. "I guess so…"

* * *

"You almost ready in there?" Drew asked knocking on the bathroom door. 

"Just a minute!" May called from inside.

Drew sighed and crossed his arms as he waited for May to come out.

"Ready!" May stated as she opened the bathroom door to reveal herself in her new dress.

May was wearing a deep red strapped dress that went down to the floor which shimmered greatly in the light. Her hair was worn down and wavy and it went a little past her breasts. She was also wearing medium sized golden hoops and a matching golden necklace with a dazzling diamond in the amulets center.

"What do you think?" May asked twirling around in a circle to show off her dress.

"W-wow May, you look beautiful…" Drew stammered looking straight into May's sapphire eyes.

May blushed a deep scarlet. "T-thanks Drew. You don't look half bad yourself."

Drew smiled slightly as he stared down at his own attire.

Drew was wearing a midnight black tuxedo with a matching black tie and jet black shoes. His hair looked like it always did; only it was a bit neater than normal. He also had a lovely red rose attached to the top half of his tux.

"Heh, thanks."

After an awkward moment of silence, Drew decided to break it.

"Well we should get going…we're going to be late."

May nodded slowly. "Right…"

* * *

Once May and Drew arrived at the restaurant, May gazed up at the tall structure in awe, while Drew's expression seemed unfazed when his eyes laid upon the building as if it was nothing. 

The restaurant _was_ pretty tall, too tall to in fact to see the small isolated tower making a low constant buzzing noise on the roof. There were many beautifully made stained-glass windows dotted about the exterior of the flawless deep golden paint, and with the moon's luminous beams thrusting its faint glow against the panes, the building's magnificence grew to even greater levels.

"This place is amazing…" May managed to murmur after a minute of appreciation.

"It's nothing special." Drew said with a shrug, although May just sighed in disagreement.

"Fine, Drew. So what? Are we going to go in?"

"After you."

And with that, the two made their way over to the glass door and when they reached it, Drew took a step ahead and held the door open allowing May to enter the building first with him following soon after.

* * *

"Hello." greeted a man when the two entered the interior of the restaurant. "I'm sorry but we're completely booked tonight." 

Drew shook his head. "That's fine and all, but we happen to have reservations."

The dull expression plastered on the man's face faded quickly as it was replaced by shame and shock.

"O-oh! Sorry sir. My fault entirely. Um, for tow I assume?"

"Yes." Drew replied.

May scanned the inside of the restaurant carefully as Drew gave the man some information.

The tables were circular and had a pearl white table cloth shrouding them with its ends tangling over the sides. Each table had its own personal chandelier which produced a dim glow creating a comfortable atmosphere for the consumers. Soft soothing music could be faintly heard through out the place as well as the rousing sounds of conversation and laughter.

"Hey, May." interrupted a voice snapping May out of her trance.

May gasped silently and turned around immediately to be greeted by Drew's peridot eyes.

"Umm, hi Drew." she muttered uneasily as Drew arched an eyebrow curiously at her behavior.

"You feeling alright?" he asked crossing his arms.

May sighed before cracking a smile. "Never better."

"Good. Now come on, we're eating over here."

May smiled a little more brightly as Drew gestured over to the north of the restaurant, proceeding to lead them to their table. Once there, the two took a seat and not soon after a woman came over and handed them some menus.

"My name is Josie and I'll be your waitress tonight." she informed them as the two accepted the menus. "Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"Just water for me." Drew said closing his eyes.

"Umm, can I have a Pepsi please?" May asked, her smiled never leaving her face.

"Of course." Josie said happily as she made her exit.

"So," Drew started turning his attention to May, "Do you like it here?"

May laughed. "Like it? I love it! It's the most amazing place I've ever stepped foot in!"

Drew smiled. "Well that's good to hear."

May nodded. "Oh yeah, I've been wondering where our next stop is! Feel like sharing?"

"Hmm, I was thinking that maybe we could swing by Ecruteak City."

May giggled. "That's a cool name for a city."

Drew nodded. "It's famous for its two towers. One of them burned down a while ago but the other still stands."

"Whoa, sounds kinda creepy…"

"Well that's the other thing…"

"Huh? What?"

"It's also famous for its…haunting-like qualities."

May's face faded quickly from her reddish-peach color to a sickly pale white.

"Y-you mean like…ghosts?"

"Yeah."

When catching sight of the young girl's expression, Drew laughed nervously and waved his hand in assurance.

"Don't worry, May! It's just rumors. I'm sure the town isn't _really_ haunted!"

May shook her head. "How do _you_ know???"

"Calm down, May! Even if there _were _any ghosts, you know that I'd be there to protect you from them."

May looked up hopefully as hues of pink began gradually returning to her skin.

"R-really?"

"Of course."

May smiled brightly all the sudden forgetting her silly fears of ghosts. As long as Drew was right by her side, there was nothing that she was afraid of.

"Here are you drinks." Josie announced as she set the two glasses onto the table cloth which quickly absorbed the dripping condensation.

"Thanks!" May thanked happily, while Drew just nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"You two ready to order?"

"I'll have the steak…" Drew answered closing his menu.

"And how would you like that cooked, sir?"

"Medium rare."

Josie nodded and directed her attention towards May.

"And you, miss?"

"Umm, I'll have chicken broccoli and ziti." she declared happily shutting her menu like Drew.

"Very well. You're food will be here shortly." Josie said taking their menus before once again leaving.

Once the waitress was clear out of sight, Drew proceeded their conversation.

"But continuing, if we want to get to that place at a decent hour, we better be on the road wicked early. That means no sleeping in."

May smiled slyly. "And same goes for you."

Deciding to ignore her comment, Drew merely rolled his eyes as May let out a soft giggle.

"I'm serious, May."

May giggled once more. "Yeah, yeah! I know. God Drew! You really need to loosen up."

Drew frowned. "Well, one of us needs to be serious…and seeing you're the one always acting like a child I figured that I have no other choice but to be the responsible one around here."

May smiled. "Well, alright. But just don't get _too _adult-like on me! After all, you _are _just a teenager…"

Drew said nothing and simply shrugged.

"Aaand I have you're meals." Josie said happily as she carefully placed the dishes in front of her two customers, who looked quite pleased with their food.

"Now if you need anything else, don't hesitate to call." Jose said leaving the two to their meals.

During their dinner, May and Drew didn't talk too much to one another except for maybe a split second when one of the attempted poorly to start a conversation. It was probably due to the fact that they hadn't eaten in almost two days, naturally making it so all that was on their minds was eating.

* * *

After the two had finished their meals and had paid, they made their exit and went back to the hotel. 

Once the two got up to their hotel room, Drew collapsed on his bed while May carefully removed her necklace and earrings and gently set them on the table.

"I had a good time tonight, Drew!" May said happily as she began to brush her hair. "I'm glad you convinced me to go."

Drew smiled as he managed to hold his weight with his arms and sit up from his bed.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I really liked it as well."

May smiled. "We should do it again sometime!"

"Definitely."

May laughed. "Well I'm going to change."

Drew sighed as he let his weight crash down onto his sheets once more after hearing the click of the wooden door.

'I should've told her tonight…' he thought sadly rolling over to his side so his gaze met the wall. 'It was the perfect time to…'

His train of thought was interrupted though when he heard the door open revealing May with her dress folded neatly in her grasp.

"Don't tell me you're sleeping in _that_." May said with a smile.

Drew smirked as he lifted the sheets and allowed himself to be shrouded within them.

"Alright then, I won't say anything."

May laughed as she rolled he eyes and also got into her bed, turning the light off once settled in.

"Good night, Drew." she said softly.

Drew sighed deeply before responding.

"…Night."

* * *

**There you have it! I hope you enjoyed it Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up in a week or two (it's the last week of school for me so once I'm out I'll be able to update more often) Well, don't forget to review!**


	13. A Frightful Premonition

**Heh, I bet you doubted me when I said I'd update in a week! Yet, here I am! Well, I wouldv'e updated yesterday but I spilt lemonade on my keybored and it got all sticky so I had to get an new one...Bleh...Well anyways, here's chapter Twelve!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon, but I do own Katashi Kaden**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: A Frightful Premonition **

"Hey, May! Wake up!" Drew said as he gently shook the young coordinator until her eyes finally fluttered open.

"W-what time is it?" May asked wearily as she began rubbing her right eye.

"Almost five."

"Wha-? Why do we have to get up so early?"

"Because we want to get to Ecruteak City before night fall."

May groaned but managed to get up anyways while Drew waited patiently for May to gather her things and what not.

"Ready?" Drew asked when he suspected that May was finished.

May nodded. "Uh-huh…"

Drew smiled. "Then let's hit the road."

* * *

May smiled brightly as she scanned the land that they had to cross. 

"Well, this place pretty much looks flat! That should be an easy travel."

Drew nodded. "Right, so we should definitely be able to reach that place at a decent hour."

"Alright, that sounds good."

Drew then continued their journey with May following close behind.

"So, um…Do you have an estimate about when we're going to arrive?"

"Sunset."

"Oh…ok…"

* * *

"Hey, Drew?" May asked. They had been traveling non-stop for about seven hours now, and May was getting pretty tired. 

Actually, the walk had been quite boring really. May had tried to start conversations with her rival, but he just seemed to be too spaced to realize he was being called to.

"Drew!"

Now May was getting really annoyed. Drew had been ignoring her; and not only was it frusterating, but worrying too.

Drew seemed to have a lot on his mind lately, and it had been concerning May. She couldn't pierce through Drew at all; he was just too complex for her. But that just made her all the more worried.

"_Drew!_"

Before Drew had time to respond, he was greeted with a slap across the face causing it to slowly fade red.

Cringing, Drew gently rubbed his cheek and winced at the sudden touch of his palm to his face.

"What was that for?!" Drew demanded angrily jerking his head to the left where May was standing impatiently with her arms crossed.

"You're not paying attention to anything!" she complained. "You're completely ignoring me and it's getting me aggravated!"

Drew's facial features loosened slightly at May's remark and looked dully down at the earth.

"Are you even listening to me now?!"

"I-I'm sorry May…I just have a lot on my mind and I guess it gets me spaced."

"Hmph! Well, I guess I can forgive you…But just this _once_! I _don't_ like being ignored!"

Drew nodded to show he understood and continued walking, May sighing before she caught up with him.

"So…when did you say we were reaching this place again?" she asked arching an eyebrow.

"Now."

Glancing at the green-haired coordinator questionably, May turned her gaze to the upcoming view and smiled.

"It's Ecruteak City!" she exclaimed happily.

Drew nodded. "Sure is."

May smiled as she turned her attention to Drew.

"We better get to the pokemon center."

"Alright."

* * *

"I found it!" May cheered approaching the building with Drew following; his hand in his pocket. 

"Hey there's some sort of note on the door…" Drew pointed out observing the yellow paper sticking on the automatic doors.

_Pokemon Trainers_

_I am terribly sorry, but this center has been closed down for the week for no one is able to run it. Unfortunately that means that sick, injured, or tired pokemon cannot come here for assistance and travelers are not permitted to use the empty center as a resting place._

_Nurse Joy_

"What?? Now where are we supposed to stay?" May whined as she fell to the ground.

Drew shrugged. "You got me…"

"Hey, don't you know it's dangerous out here?"

Cocking their heads, May and Drew directed their attention to where that voice was coming, and gasped when they spotted an intimidating looking man.

Well, he wasn't big ad he didn't look too strong, but something about his appearance sent shivers down your spine.

His hair was midnight-black and rigid as well as really short. He had tan shin and his eyes were a dark blue. His attire consisted of a jet-black sweatshirt and dark indigo jeans; which were pretty baggy and covered most of his black sneakers.

"W-who are you?" May stammered clinging to Drew.

The man smirked as he positioned his hands within his sweatshirt pocket.

"My name is Katashi Kaden." he replied in his deep voice.

Drew frowned as he took a step closer to him.

"Um…what were you saying before? You know, about it being dangerous or something?"

Katashi chuckled. "Yeah, you might get attacked by ghosts. We wouldn't want that now would we?"

May shivered. "G-ghosts?"

Drew glared at the dark man. "If there are ghosts around, then why in the world are you out here?"

"Well if you must know, I happen to be a pokemon researcher that specializes in ghost type pokemon. So naturally, I have no fear towards them what so ever. I actually try to get around to places that are rumored to be haunted for further research."

"And that's why you came to Ecruteak?"

"Correct."

Drew frowned. "That's great and all, but May and I really have to focus on finding a place to stay…"

Katashi smirked once more. "Well, normally I don't allow other people in my presence but seeing as you two have no place to stay with the center shut down, I invite you to spend the night at my place."

May's expression showed confusion as well as shock as she turned to Drew expectantly waiting for an answer.

"Well, alright. But only because we need a place to stay."

Katashi chuckled. "And that's the only reason why I offered it in the first place."

Drew rolled his eyes. "Let's just go."

Katashi nodded. "Right. Follow me."

* * *

"This place is kinda small…" May observed when they finally reached Katashi's residence. 

Katashi shrugged. "Well I only live in this city for about a month or two every year; my real home is the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town."

Drew arched an eyebrow. "Why in the world would you want to live there?"

Katashi smirked. "Because it's the most haunted place I've ever had the pleasure of enduring."

May and Drew exchanged uneasy glances at one another before directing their attention once more to Katashi.

"Well are we going to go inside or what?" Drew asked impatiently; he wasn't receiving a good vibe from this guy.

Katashi nodded. "Of course. After you." he said as he gestured for the two to enter, which they hesitantly proceeded to do after a moment of silence.

Once inside, the two coordinators scanned the interior of the home as Katashi made his entrance.

"You guys can sleep wherever it most pleases you." he told them as he disappeared into the shadows of the home.

"Drew, I can't see a thing! Can you turn on the lights?" May pleaded through whispers.

"I would if there were lights…" Drew replied.

"Wha—?"

"Take a look around, May. There. Are. No. Lights."

"What kind of house doesn't have any lighting? How can you see anything in here?"

"Well Katashi seemed to be able to navigate without the slightest problem."

"Yeah, he sure is something different. I'll give him that much."

Drew looked at May firmly. "I don't have a good feeling about this Katashi guy."

May blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Something about him just doesn't seem right. If you ask me, this guy should be spending his nights in a mental hospital."

"Drew! That's not nice to say! You don't eve know him!"

Drew frowned. "I know, but I just have this feeling…"

"Well if you always followed your instincts then we'd surely be dead by now. So there. Now let's just focus on getting some rest. Then we can get outta this spooky place at sunrise."

Drew nodded. "Alright, sounds like a good plan."

* * *

Yawning, Drew awakened and stretched before taking a look around. 

After a moment, Drew looked around curiously for he was accepting to be greeted by the sun's beams seeping through the window panes but instead, the residence appeared to be even darker than when he had fallen asleep.

It was then he noticed that the windows were shrouded buy black clothes which kept the suns light from entering the home.

"Hey May!" Drew cried as he began shaking May.

"What?" she asked fully awake.

Truth be told, May hadn't gotten much sleep due to fear form having to stay in a place like this. And when observing the lack of light for the time to day, her fear continued to grow.

"W-what time is it?" she asked trembling.

"It's sunrise." Drew frowned. "I really think we should get outta here ASAP. This place is even starting to scare _me_."

Jus then, Katashi's figure stood in the doorway and two coordinators gasped at his sudden presence.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked in a threatening tone.

"Y-yeah…" May answered quietly.

"Yeah um thanks for the stay it was really thoughtful bye!" Drew slurred quickly as the two dashed out of the home leaving Katashi to stare at the room now filled with emptiness questionably.

* * *

"I'm glad to be out of there!" May sighed as the two continued walking. 

Drew nodded. "Agreed. The father away we from this place the better."

"So…where off to next?"

"Dunno, I guess we just keep walking until we get somewhere."

May smiled. "Winging it I see?" she giggled. "I like it."

Drew smiled as well as the two continued walking until the faint wails projecting through Ecruteak City were nothing but distant memories as the town faded form view.

But even still, Drew couldn't help but feel as though their first encounter with Katashi would certainly not be their last…

* * *

**Well there you have it! Hopefully I'll be able to update again in another week, so be on the look out! And don't forget to review!**


	14. A Pleasurable Day at the Fair

**Whoa, I updated! Spooky. Anyway, sorry for the long wait. I've been really busy, and highschool just started so...bleh. This chapter's not very long, so I'll alopogize for that now. So just...enjoy!**

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 14: A Pleasurable Day at the Fair…right…?**

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So…where exactly are we heading to again?" May asked trudging along the dirt road.

"Well we should be arriving at Olivine City shortly." Drew said not taking much interest in May's struggling.

"Rose!" Roselia chirped happily easily keeping pace with her master.

"Huh? Hey, what's that?" May asked positioning herself in and upright posture.

"It's…a telephone pole. Do you find something about it fascinating?" Drew asked arching an eyebrow.

May rolled her eyes. "No, I mean there's some sort of flyer on the telephone pole."

"…So?"

May glared at Drew and changed her tempo until she was ahead of the green-haired coordinator and carefully pulled the flyer from the wooden pole.

Drew sighed as he eventually caught up to her, and by this time May was smiling brightly.

"Um, why so happy?" Drew asked, although he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Take a look!" May cried with excitement practically shoving the cerulean flyer in Drew's face, causing him to take a step backwards.

Frowning, Drew snatched the flyer and read its contents.

"It says there's going to be a fair…" he concluded still not totally sure why he was reading this.

May nodded. "Yes! And take a look where it's going to be held!"

His frown deepening, Drew took another look down at the flyer.

"It says it's being held tomorrow in…Olivine City…"

May just stood there, smiling, while Drew's eyes widened.

"…No." Drew stated simply, carelessly tossing the flyer behind him.

"Hey! You littered!" May snapped.

"Don't change the subject May!" Drew demanded as Roselia happily jumped gracefully into the air catching the flyer with ease.

"But why can't we go?" May asked. "It's in the same place we're going to so it's not like it's out of the way and—"

"I said _no_." Drew repeated as he continued to walk down the dirt road.

"Oh come on! It'll be fun! And you know, you do really need to loosen up and I think this'll be good for you and I need something to do and—"

Drew sighed. "If I go, will that make you shut up?"

May said nothing and nodded.

Feeling as though he didn't have a choice anyway, Drew turned his attention towards the ground before looking once more at May.

"…Okay, fine. But only for a little bit, you got that?"

May's expression lit up immediately as she embraced Drew, causing his face to burn madly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" May cried tightening her grasp.

"You're welcome, but could you please let go of me? I can't breathe…"

May laughed as she let go of Drew. "Sorry!" she giggled.

Drew rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah…"

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here we are!" May cheered happily twirling about as she entered the boundaries of the city.

Drew sighed. "Yeah, we're here…" he stated returning Roselia to her pokeball.

"So what are we going to do first?" May asked excitedly.

"Check into a Pokemon Center, obviously."

"Okay!"

And with that, the two finally located a Pokemon Center after about ten minutes of searching, checked in and settled themselves within their room.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wake up!" May cried happily as she shook Drew.

Drew simply groaned and turned himself to face the wall as May simply laughed.

"Come on, Drew! Get up already!" she repeated shaking Drew harder.

After about five minutes of this, May smiled and ripped the sheets from the bed, causing Drew to tumble to the ground.

"Get ready!" she said as she ran to her side of the room, making some last minute touch ups.

Drew frowned as he rubbed the back of his head, and struggled until he finally managed to stand up right.

"You're going to make my bed, you know." he said going into the bathroom.

May had no problem with this as she picked up all the loose sheets and spread them over the mattress and neatly placed the pillows at the head of the bed.

"Finished! Now hurry up!" she called knocking on the bathroom door.

May backed up slightly startled at how suddenly the door opened and smiled to see Drew all ready to go.

"Come on!" she cried grabbing Drew's arm and dragging out of the Pokemon center and into the center of the city, where the fair had been set up.

Drew said nothing as he scanned the area, for he was new to this sort of stuff.

"Is all of this…safe?" he asked arching an eyebrow.

May shrugged. "I doubt it but who cares?"

"I care! I'm really not in the mood the be severely injured."

"Oh, don't worry so much! Let's just have some fun, okay?"

"…I dunno…"

But before Drew could say anything else, May had once again dragged him to some part of the fair.

"Let's start of easy! The Ferris Wheel!" May said happily pointing her finger up at the ride.

Drew backed up a little uneasily. "It's, um, kinda high…don't you think?"

May laughed. "Well it's supposed to be high! That's the point of the ride."

"Well, I think it's a pretty sad point…I said we go on a different ride."

"If you don't want to start on this, we can always start on a roller coaster."

Drew expression dropped. "Well…uh, I guess this is a good ride to start…"

May smiled. "That's what I thought. Come on!"

So the two got in line, and eventually got in the little cart and strapped themselves in.

"Have fun…" said the man at the controls, looking and sounding as though he had no meaning in the earth's existence.

And with that, he pulled the lever allowing the wheel to slowly spin.

"Isn't this great?" May asked looking down as the earth below got farther away.

"Yeah, great…" Drew groaned refusing to let himself look below.

May, noticing this, smiled slyly at Drew.

"You're not afraid of heights, are you?" she asked teasingly.

Drew sweatdropped as he laughed nervously. "Well, I…um…"

May laughed. "It's okay o be afraid!" she assured him.

Drew frowned. "I never said I was afraid…" he defended.

May laughed once more. "Please! It's written all over your face!"

"I'm not afraid!" Drew said once more gripping the metal bar tightly.

May frowned. "Why can't you just admit that you are? It's okay, I'm not going to make fun of you! You might even grow to like heights!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. You don't stop fearing something…"

May smiled. "Well…I've really never told too many people this, but I used to be afraid of Pokemon.

Drew arched an eyebrow. "Afraid of Pokemon? That's ridiculous."

May rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Drew. You can just imagine how comments like that make me feel.

Drew frowned. "You know I'm just kidding, right?"

May looked up at him. "Kidding? Yeah right. You've always made those sorts of comments towards me."

Drew's frown deepened. "Maybe so, but…well, the truth is…I never meant any of those…"

May's expression loosened up. "What…?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah…I just said those things because…I…" Drew gulped. _It's now or never_ he thought.

"Because why?" May asked hopefully. _Is he saying…what I think he's going to say? Oh my God…_

"Hey you twos…" the control man said staring at the two coordinators, both appearing to be a bit flustered. "Get off the ride."

----------------------------------------------------------------

The two were now currently walking through the fair, both had not said a word since they had exited the ride.

_I was so close!_ Drew thought angrily. _Stupid control guy and his…controls. Pfft._

May looked around nervously, also a bit taken back. "So…where would you like to go next?"

Drew said nothing as he turned his attention towards the ground.

May sighed. "That's too bad…I haven't got a shovel."

After a few more minutes of walking, May suddenly screamed as she grabbed Drew's arm.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his face having a slight crimson hue.

"Look over there…" she said, practically in tears as she buried her head in Drew's shoulder.

Arching an eyebrow, Drew followed the direction May's finger was pointing to and gasped.

On the floor was a man, no older the 30, with a sword gouged right through his skull. Blood was streaming uncontroably from the wound forming a puddle underneath the body.

"Holy shit…" Drew whispered.

A security guard passing by, noticed the body, and yelped as he quickly took out some sort of communication device and spoke into it. A moment later sirens and alarms went off and the fair turned into a state of panic.

"What if the murderer comes after one of us next?" May asked, not able to bear the thought.

Drew pulled May away from him and held her firmly by the shoulders.

"Listen to me," he said making perfect eye contact with her, "I promise I will not let anything happen to you. Understand?"

May hesitated before replying. "But…but how do you know that for sure?"

Drew frowned. "I- I don't." he answered honestly. "But I would do all I could to save you. You know that, right?"

May smiled slightly feeling a little more protected. "Yes…I know that well."

Drew nodded. "Good. Now let's get out of here."

So then the two began running as fast as they could out of the fair, Drew holding tightly onto May's hand.

"We're not going to make it!" May cried, her mind brining up all the negatives.

"Just stay come!" Drew told her as he picked up the pace.

It was then as they were running, Drew stepped on a marked set of land, setting off a time bomb of some sort causing the two to be sent flying.

Drew landed violently on his arm, causing a tear to trickle down his face. He the tried getting up but failed, and continued to lie helplessly on the ground, scanning his surrounding for May, who he did not see in sight.

"May…" he whispered in a determined voice, once more trying to get up. This time he managed to sit up, but felt too much energy drain and found himself collapsing on the ground, completely unconscious.

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**Well, there you have it. Hope it was worth the wait...Anyway, I'll try to have the next chapter up by next week. Course, I said that last time and here I am, three months later. So, I guess we'll just see. Please remember to review!**


	15. A Clue, or a Warning?

**Holy crap I updated in less than a week! Shocker, bet you didn't see that once coming! Well anyway, I got some goof news! I have a longer chapter here! Probably the second longest one in the story I think? It's alomost ten pages... Well, you probably don't want to here me babble to on with it!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon just like I haven't this whole story...BUT I do in fact own Katashi and Masami.**

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**A Clue, or a Warning?**

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**Drew's POV**

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Numb…The word was cascading through my soul shattering into pieces at the touch of my heart. I could feel nothing; it felt as though I was a feather…Yes, nothing but a light feather, dancing with the wind. And yet, I felt like a boulder. A large one, pinning firmly to the earth. How in the world could I feel like both? I fear questions like that can never get answered, for they're too complicated and complex for our comprehension…

Either that, or we just don't want to find the answers. The answer to life? Know one truly wants to know it. It would just bring them to a state of confusion and depression. The world could never go on with life knowing the meaning.

I mean, would you want to go that journey with the weight of the world causing you to trudge? It's weight (considering the density of the answer) would cause you to do nothing but collapse, leaving you helpless.

But, it's not like us as man kind were already helpless to begin with…

"Hello?"

A voice! A chime piercing through my thoughts. What stage thoughts they are, but I suppose that's not the point. The voice was what had my attention for the moment.

"Are you okay?"

There it is again. It's calling to me, I know that for sure now. I needed to tell it that I was fine, for I could sense the worry in its tone. Yet, my body still felt, dare I say it, numb. I couldn't budge, let alone open my mouth.

It was then I felt my eye forcefully open, causing me to groan and open the other one.

"¡Hola!" greeted a girl happily seeing that I was alright. Boy did that tone change quickly.

Immediately after quickly glancing at the girl, I was drawn to her eyes. Her eyes were a deep sapphire blue. Oh, how they reminded me of another girl's I know…But, what makes hers different than May's, was the thin gray outlining her pupil, giving her a more mysterious sort of appeal. Yet, she seemed so open…Ugh, again with the two opposites. I suppose it wouldn't be wise to dwell a second time. I'd get a headache.

Struggling, I finally managed to sit myself up by pushing all my body weight to my arms.

"Hey…" I replied still feeling a bit drowsy.

"¿Comó te llamas? asked the girl, a smile plastered on her face.

I arched an eyebrow, utterly confused. What was she saying? It sounded like Italian or something…maybe Spanish?

"…What?" I finally managed to ask.

The girl giggled. I think she knew I couldn't understand her. "What's your name?"

"Oh…my name's Drew."

"Me llamo Masami." There was a pause. "…My name is Masami!"

I smiled uneasily. "Nice to meet you." Honestly, I wasn't sure if I meant that.

Masami nodded. "Same."

I frowned as I scanned my surroundings. It was then I remembered last night. The fair, the Ferris Wheel, the stupid control man, and…and that explosion!

It was then I realized something, my mind getting clearer images from my last moments.

May…May? _May!_

She wasn't here!

I looked around once more, having slight hope I would see her, but I saw no one but Masami.

_What if she's still there? What if she's hurt? What if…What if she's dead?!_

Thoughts kept racing through my mind, each one more progressively worse than before.

_Calm down Drew…_ I told myself. If May was still in fact out there, panicking on the spot naming negatives was not going to go get her.

But…this girl found me, so she must've been there. Maybe she knows where May is? Perhaps she saw her? Well, only one way to find out.

"Do you know where May is?" I asked showing no sign of panic. I wasn't going to show weakness to a stranger.

"The name doesn't ring a bell…" Masami said cocking her head. It didn't even look like she gave much thought into her answer.

My frown deepened. Taking one more look around, I decided to start things off with another question that was eating away at the back of my mind.

"Why am I here?"

Masami shrugged, turning her attention towards the ceiling. "Why are any of us here?"

I rolled my eyes. What kind of response was that? Huh, maybe I got it backwards. She must think a little too much about her words.

"That's not what I meant…"

Masami sighed in a sort of defeated tone. I suppose she wanted to start some sort of lecture on me.

"I found you knocked out and in pretty bad shape on the ground. You're lucky to be alive, you know."

Lucky to be alive? What in the world?

"W-what? What happened??" I stammered. My promise to myself to stop thinking negatively immediately went down the drain.

Masami paused for a moment and not a second more.

"Damascus."

I paused as well, but I took my time before continuing any further.

"Who's that?"

Masami turned her attention back to me. I guess she got bored of the ceiling.

"Damascus is a very infamous man in the region of Johto. You just happened to just be in the wrong place at the wrong time, is all."

"What? But what about May?" I asked, quickly maintaining my composure once realizing the small tone of panic in the question.

"I told you, I don't know who she is! Perhaps if you were to at least give me a description." Masami responded, showing a bit of irritation. "Do you know what insanity is? It's doing the same thing and expecting a different result."

I sighed a little aggravated and rolled my eyes, but decided to give what she asked for anyways.

"Well she has brown hair, blue eyes, she wears lots of red, pale skin—"

"You're not that good when it comes to descriptions, are you?"

I frowned. I suppose it wasn't very good, was it? I'm sure lots of people have those basic features, but she's right. I'm not the best with descriptions.

"Can't you do anything with what I gave you?"

Masami put what she could of my poor description together, and after coming up with a conclusion her expression fell suddenly, causing mine to mirror hers.

"What's wrong?" I asked. This time I wasn't ashamed to hide the nervousness in my tone.

Masami sighed deeply as she met her deep blue eyes with my own. I could feel my heart begin to race. "Ay…Lo siento, Drew. But…May, she was…"

"She was what?" I asked. "Spit it out already!"

"She was captured…"

"What?! Captured?!"

Masami nodded sadly. "Sí…"

After hearing that, I immediately got to my feet with a determined expression.

"Well, we need to go after her!"

Masami blinked, not sure she heard me correctly.

"_We_?"

I frowned deeply. I couldn't believe I was asking for any sort of help, let alone from a stranger. But it's like they say, 'desperate times call for desperate measures'.

"I can't do this on my own." I told her in a firm tone. "You seem to know your way around, I think we could make a good team."

Masami continued to stare blankly at me, I could tell she was a bit taken back by the sudden offer. But at the same time I knew she was carefully thinking it over.

"You…you care about this girl a lot, don't you?"

My expression as well as my posture loosening, I felt myself arch an eyebrow. I was expecting an answer, not anything like this!

"…Huh?"

"This girl…" Masami repeated once more. "You have strong feelings for her, feelings that definitely surpass friendship."

I glared at her. How dare she just invade my personal life like that?

"I don't think this is an appropriate conversation! You don't know me nor May! Mind your own business!"

"I can see it in your eyes…" Masami continued, ignoring my previous comment as though it meant nothing. Apparently she focuses on her own thoughts, and goes by those. Not a bad way to live, but I suppose it would get aggravating to others. Well…at least I know I'm aggravated. "And your tone of voice…"

"Fine! You caught me!" I snapped, really not it the mood to argue. I didn't have time for this! I needed to find May. "I can't take it anymore! I need to tell someone!"

Masami looked at me expectantly. "Tell someone what?"

"That…that I love her."

"¿Quién?"

"What?"

Masami rolled her eyes. "_Who_?"

"May!" I growled. I could take the hint that he was being messed with.

Masami laughed, not taking note of my tone of voice. "Why didn't you say so? I'll help you out."

I sighed, a bit relieved I finally got her on my side. "Great, since we're right in Olivine City we can look for some sort of clue."

Masami arched an eyebrow. "Who said we were in Olivine City?"

It was my turn to arch an eyebrow now.

"Huh?"

"We're almost at Ecruteak City."

"What? Why are we heading there?" I asked, an image of the frightening man appearing within my thoughts.

"I just need to stop there for a moment, only a moment. Then we can head back to Olivine to see what we can find there."

I frowned uneasily. I really didn't want to go back their after what happened, but I guess if she had to do something I couldn't stop her. "Well…alright."

-----

We had been walking for quite a bit at this point, and by now the sun had past the horizon line trudging along the night sky. Up right in the center of that sky was the moon, its beams beating proudly upon the earth. I could feel the watery beams on my body. It obviously wasn't as strong (or painful) as the sun's rays, but it was in more of a symbolic meaning…

Masami herself had her attention drawn to the sky. It appeared to me she liked noticing her surroundings. Nothing went unnoticed by her. Weather that was good or bad was unclear to me yet. I had a feeling I would find out later anyway.

It was then Masami stopped when she came to an ancient-looking home hidden from the liquid light the moon had to offer by taking cover under a dense forest. Weird…I don't ever remember entering one.

"Open up!" Masami ordered suddenly, interrupting my train of thought. After a minute of silence, Masami rolled her eyes and began banging on the front door of a beaten up home.

I arched an eyebrow as I took the time to scan the area. This place happened to seem a more than a little familiar to me…

A moment later, a man then opened the door, a Gastly with a blue aurora floating contently by his head.

_That man!_ I thought taking a step back. That's why this place was so eerily familiar! It was where that man had taken us for the night.

"Hmm? Something wrong?" Masami asked turning to face me noticing my sudden reaction.

"I…I know him!" I stated not taking me eyes off the man for a slit moment.

The man laughed. "Yes, I offered shelter for you and your girlfriend. How could I forget?"

I frowned deeply turning my attention to Masami. "Why are we visiting him?" I whispered positive the man couldn't here. "No offense…but he creeps me out."

Masami laughed. "Yeah, Katashi does have a frightening appearance, doesn't he?"

Katashi chuckled. "I'm not in any position to deny it, too."

"But how so you know him?" I asked a little more irritated. I still really didn't know why we were here as well.

"Él es mi hermano." Masami explained simply. i just stared at her aggravated.

Masami sweatdropped. "Heh, I mean, he's my brother."

"What?" I asked, completely astonished. That was probably the last thing I expected.

"He can help us look for May." Masami told me with a smile.

"A search party? Sweet, I need something to do." Katashi said with a smirk plastered in his face.

Masami nodded. "Indeed. We're heading for Olivine right now for some clues."

Katashi arched an eyebrow. "Why there?"

"That's where she was kidnapped."

"Ah, makes sense to me."

"…Are we going to go, or what?" I asked, my patience hanging by a string.

Katashi nodded. "Of course."

-----

Once the trio reached their destination of Olivine City, I gasped and stopped while the other two continued to enter as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

The city, in fact, had been destroyed. The buildings had crumbled into nothing but piles of ash, and the fair that was standing so proudly just last night had become ruins practically buried in the earth's surface.

As Masami and Katashi began the excavation, I stopped abruptly when I found himself in front of the Ferris Wheel. I didn't see a ruin, though. I saw it up an running, and felt tears swell up in my eyes when two people in particular got on the ride.

"_Isn't this great?" May asked looking down as the earth below got farther away._

"_Yeah, great…" Drew groaned refusing to let himself look below._

_May, noticing this, smiled slyly at Drew._

"_You're not afraid of heights, are you?" she asked teasingly._

_Drew sweatdropped as he laughed nervously. "Well, I…um…"_

_May laughed. "It's okay to be afraid!" she assured him._

_Drew frowned. "I never said I was afraid…" he defended._

_May laughed once more. "Please! It's written all over your face!"_

"_I'm not afraid!" Drew said once more gripping the metal bar tightly._

_May frowned. "Why can't you just admit that you are? It's okay, I'm not going to make fun of you! You might even grow to like heights!"_

_Drew rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. You don't stop fearing something…"_

_May smiled. "Well…I've really never told too many people this, but I used to be afraid of Pokemon._

_Drew arched an eyebrow. "Afraid of Pokemon? That's ridiculous."_

_May rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Drew. You can just imagine how comments like that make me feel._

_Drew frowned. "You know I'm just kidding, right?"_

_May looked up at him. "Kidding? Yeah right. You've always made those sorts of comments towards me."_

_Drew's frown deepened. "Maybe so, but…well, the truth is…I never meant any of those…"_

_May's expression loosened up. "What…?"_

_Drew nodded. "Yeah…I just said those things because…I…" Drew gulped. __**It's now or never**__ he thought._

"_Because why?" May asked hopefully. __**Is he saying…what I think he's going to say? Oh my God…**_

"_Hey you twos…" the control man said staring at the two coordinators, both appearing to be a bit flustered. "Get off the ride."_

Suddenly, I felt a wave depression crash right through my soul, and this time, my heart. And unable to take it, I just collapsed on the ground, tears cascading down my face.

Now normally, I would never cry. I was strong. I didn't show emotion easily at all. But after past events, all of these recent emotions had begun bottling up within me. And now here I was, spilling my soul out.

The next thing I knew I felt a hand placed on me shoulder, and he looked up with blood red eyes, not bothering to wipe away excess tears.

And there were those sapphire blue eyes this time accompanied with a gentle smile.

"It's okay to cry…" Masami assured me, speaking quietly as you would a child.

I chose not to say anything, and just continued to let me tears stream freely once more.

Masami nodded satisfied as she got up and went back to searching with her brother, leaving me to deal with me emotions, something I seemed to never be able to do properly.

"Find anything?" Masami asked approaching Katashi.

Katashi merely smirked as he proudly held up an envelope. "See for yourself."

Masami cocked her head as she accepted the envelope once it was handed to her. She then carefully ripped open the ivory envelope and slowly pulled out a pale blue piece of paper. Arching an eyebrow, Masami read the following contents:

_As scorching as the intensity of a blazing star, as dangerous as a simple poison injecting through your blood. This is where darkness shall rise._

Masami arched an eyebrow. "I see it requires some thought, don't you think?"

Katashi nodded. "Most definitely."

Smiling, Masami carefully pulled a stray strand of her long blonde hair that was dangling in her face and neatly tucked it behind her ear.

Katashi blinked. "…Where's your Raichu anyways?" he asked.

Masami arched an eyebrow. "Random much? Well, he's sleeping in my backpack. I don't want to wake him, that isn't very nice."

"Who said anything about nice?"

"Katashi…"

Katashi merely rolled his eyes.

"Drew, could you come here?" Masami called, noticing I had managed to get to my feet; now currently staring off into the distance.

Deciding to be patient obviously understanding what I was going through, the duo waited a couple minutes before I had finally managed to make my way over to their position.

"Yes?" I asked in a melancholy tone.

"We found something that might help us to find your girlfriend."

My expression immediately brightened, looking at them with hope. "Really? What?

Masami smiled and handed him the letter, which I carefully read over a couple of times at least before looking back at them.

"I…I don't understand." I admitted allowing Masami to take back the letter.

"Join the club." said Katashi placing his hands in his ink black sweatshirt pocket. "We sell remote controls."

Masami arched an eyebrow. "What the hell? Who would join a club for remotes?"

"I would."

"Yes, but you don't even have anything to use it for."

"I could use it to go fishing."

"…You can do that?"

"With the power of science, sure! Why not?"

"The power of science? I really don't like logic."

"Then imagine a way! You're good with all that creativity crap."

"It's not crap!"

"Yeah, whatever. But I—"

"You guys, focus!" I snapped becoming extremely aggravated.

There was a long pause.

"I guess he doesn't like remote controls…" Katashi said blankly as Masami merely nodded.

I rolled his eyes, determined to get them back on topic.

_Dealing with these guys isn't going to be easy…_

"But…what if this doesn't lead us to her at all? And if it does, how in the word are we going to figure it out?" I asked doubtfully, hoping to get them back on the case.

Masami shrugged. "Well, this is all we have. And I could probably easily figure this out if I could just have a little time for examination."

Katashi arched an eyebrow. "Then why don't you get examining?"

Masami rolled her eyes. "Sí, señor." she said giving him a quick salute.

"And what do we do until then?" I asked curiously.

Katashi sighed. "Well…all we can do now is wait."

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**You like? Then review people!!! Oh, and also I'm relly curious to know what you all think of what that riddle/clue thing means. It isn't that hard to figure out unfortunately cause I thought of it in three seconds but still, I wanna know... And, um, the winner gets a brownie! (haha my mom finally made some of those) So now let's see how long it takes for me to update! Yeah!**


	16. Crimson meets Ebony

**Sorry for the long wait. I had a little writer's block with this chapter. Anyway, I just want to tell you something to keep in mind for the whole story: Every thing that happens in this story is _somehow _connected to a rose. There. I know this chapter's kind of short, but the point I wanted to make in the chapter doesn't take 10 pages to do. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon, but I do own Masami and Katashi Kaden.**

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Drew sighed deeply as he sat at the edge of a cliff, pondering over various items.

The sun was just about to momentarily seep through the horizon line trudging the vast cerulean sky along with it. But for the meantime, the sky was a deep indigo, slowly blending with mixes of orange until it morphed to pink at the horizon.

Drew thought it to be around 6:30 A.M. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the previous night for understandable reasons.

He was fidgeting a little as his patience began thinning. Katashi and Masami were still out cold, and he had no idea when they'd be up, let alone begin the search.

His mind then brought him back the clue they had found the other day.

_What in the world does it mean?_ he thought giving the riddle much of his attention.

Masami said she'd be able to decipher it, but…what if she just couldn't? Maybe it was too complex for her to comprehend, and then he would never see May again.

That'd be just awful…

Once Drew's thoughts began drowning into an abyss once more, something was pressed gently against is facial features, causing him to blink and come back into reality which was where he needed to be.

Adjusting his vision form the sudden shock, Drew was able to make out the object to be a flower. But no just any flower.

A rose.

A rose was the last thing we wanted to see right now. It reminded him to much of May, to much of all of what had happened. He ascended his arm to brush away the pain, but stopped instantly when taking another look at it.

The rose…it was…black.

Drew arched an eyebrow. A _black _rose? Who in the world would throw depressing upon him at a moment like this?

"Feel better?" Drew heard a voice chime.

Looking up, Drew was greeted by deep sapphire eyes.

Those eyes…

"Masami?" Drew asked. He was slightly puzzled as he glanced at the ebony rose, for she had yet to draw it back from his face.

"Do you feel better?" Masami repeated, keeping the rose firmly in his eye contact.

Drew grimaced slightly at this. "No, how can I be when you're shoving a rose in my face?"

"A _black_ rose." Masami corrected him with a giggle. "Negro!"

"Oh, so now we're racist?" he retorted a little irritated at this point.

Masami shook her head, and although insulted, she kept a smile. "It means black in Spanish."

"Are you Spanish?" Drew asked.

"No. I often wish I were though."

Drew nodded, pretending to understand, but then just returned his gaze to the rose.

"So…" he started. "Why would you think a black rose would make me feel any better?"

"I do not think, I _know_." Masami responded.

Drew rolled his eyes. "Fine then. Just give me a reason, will you?"

Masami blinked. "Does everything need a reason?"

Drew didn't take much time at all before replying. "Yes."

There was a long pause. Masami, on the other hand, thought deeply for responds to things such as this.

"…Why?"

Drew opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it abruptly and immediately looked downwards, arching an eyebrow. Could he really not think of a reason?

Noticing the pause, Masami smiled. "I thought so." she said, handing Drew the ebony rose once more.

Drew frowned deeply, slowly turning his gaze to the rose.

Masami laughed softly. "You're feeling down, I'll humor you. Listen closely, for I shall only say this once, and then it shall be embedded within your thoughts: What better when you're depressed, then to gaze upon something that symbolizes depression itself?"

Drew's facial features loosened, as he stared questionably at the rose before carefully grasping it as though it was the most fragile thing in the world at that moment. He couldn't dare break it.

"…I feel the comfort…" Drew said after a moment of staring deeply into the petals of the rose.

Masami nodded. "Yes. I know you like red roses, but I don't think you want to be soaking within romance at this point, do you?"

Drew blinked, looking at Masami. "How did you know I like red roses?"

Masami laughed gently, holding up a crimson rose with a smile. How she could always manage to maintain that smile was beyond Drew.

"Where did you get that?" Drew asked, cocking his head curiously.

"From you."

Drew's expression dropped. "…Wha-? Did you violate me when I was sleeping or something?" Now Drew was potentially starting to freak out.

Masami shook her head. "I got from you about a minute ago."

Drew paused. "Wait, how did you…?"

Masami chuckled, lightly tossing the crimson rose behind her, Drew wincing as it hit the ground.

Noticing this, Masami smiled softly as she took the hand in which Drew was holding the black rose and shoved it gently in his face.

"Be swept over by depression, Drew…" she whispered softly. "There's nothing wrong with it. Hate needs to balance love…balance…"

"Tormenting another, I see. Give it a rest, will you? All hearts are cold."

Both taken back from the sudden remark, Drew and Masami looked up to see an all too familiar sinister looking character.

Masami chuckled. "Katashi, you know all ice can melt."

Katashi smirked. "The glaciers in the arctics."

"Global Warming."

"A myth."

"Don't escape what's true."

Katashi blinked. "Don't even start, Masami. I'm not in the mood for a life lesson today."

Masami shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Katashi merely rolled his eyes.

Drew cocked his head. They should start searching now. Wait…wow, he had gotten his mind away from May for this long? This black rose did work.

Wait…what if he just forgot about May? He shivered.

Making sure Masami wasn't looking, he tossed the black rose as far as he could without producing a sound, and the interrupted the siblings.

"We should start looking for May, right?"

Masami nodded. "Indeed."

Katashi smiled as he started walking. "Alright, come on now! We got a long ways to go."

Drew blinked. "That means…that means you figured out the riddle!"

Masami bowed. "Your welcome."

Drew smiled brightly, but then frowned as he turned his attention up to the sky.

_Don't worry May…_ he thought. _I 'm on my way._

_------------_

**Hope you liked it. Can't tell you when the next update'll be. Bands comsuming my life and this story's getting to be hard to write, but I'm not giving up on it. Anyway, remember to review. **


	17. Trapped Behind Walls

**It's about time I updated huh? Well, my last band competition was last week, so that means I'll have way more time. I would have updated sooner, but I've been really sick. Meh... I have to draw two requests too, so that might delay the next chapter. Well, the chapters are counting down. Not much left from here. Hope you enjoy this while it lasts.**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own Pokemon. Life's just full of dissapointments, isn't it?**

* * *

**May's POV**

* * *

_I __felt as though all the world's emotions were crashing upon me…_

"Hey, is that a flower?" _(flower)_

_Not just emotionally, but physically as well…_

"I'm not alright…but I will be."_(I will be)_

_Oh, the pain I was feeling…_

"Oh, I'm so glad you're awake! I was so worried!" _(worried)_

…_If only I could make it stop…_

"That for me? Thanks Drew!" _(thanks Drew)_

…

…_Drew._

Slowly and gradually, my eyes managed to flutter open.

Feeling drained of my energy, I lifted my arm to rub my eye. As soon as I tried ascending my hand, I struggled a bit to trudge it through some sort of liquid until it got to my eye.

…Wait, liquid?

I blinked a few times and watched some bubbles spurt from my mobile eyelashes. Gasping, I tried to say something, but my words came out all wrong as they got gulped by the fluid.

I trudged my hand through the liquid until it hit some sort of glass, and my eyes widened once realizing that I was tapped in some sort of tube.

_Where am I?_ I thought having a slight panic attack. No, scratch that. I was freaking out! I mean, who wouldn't be? I was trapped in a tube unaware of how in the world I was even breathing underwater and having no idea where I was.

_Wasn't I just at the fair?_

I closed my eyes tightly and tried to regain my memory. I remember going to a fair, going on a Ferris wheel, and then…and then I saw…a dead body. Oh…oh, I remember now. There were those explosions! Yes…but, what about Drew? He was caught in that mess as well! Oh, I hope he's ok…

My train of thought was lost however when the sound of an automatic door slid open.

"W-who's there?" I stuttered.

The figure stared blankly in my direction for a moment, and then he went over to his control desk and pushed a cerulean button, causing a green screento illuminate.

"Ah, you asked who I was." he said nodding.

I cocked my head but said nothing until I understood what he had done.

_Oh, I get it…he can't understand me through the liquid so that screen must translate._

The man then turned to face me with a wicked smile, and bowed deeply.

"I am Damascus." he said standing himself up straight at a rather slow pace.

May shivered slightly, feeling the tone of his voice seeping trough her skin. A chilling feeling it was, as though someone had taken ice and pressed it lightly upon her neck, at first it being a nuisance and then becoming numb.

"W-where…am I?" May asked, taking a step back but was abruptly stopped when her back met the glass of the tube.

_Forgot that was there…_

"You're here." Damascus stated simply, giving a small shrug at her question.

"And where exactly _is_here?" May asked through clenched teeth. The irritation in her tone was un-missable.

Damascus laughed softly with a sinister hue blended slyly within. "You're nowhere…"

And leaving May startled at such an odd response, Damascus made his exit with an ebony cloak to trail.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

* * *

"It's almost sunset." Masami stated taking a good thoughtful look into the sky.

"We can't stop now, there's still time." Drew argued as he continued to trudge, wiping a drop of sweat from his brow.

"What are you talking about? We may have time, but a break will do. You look like you're about to collapse." Katashi mocked ruffling up Drew's jade hair, causing him to wince.

Masami smiled. "I think a break is a good idea too."

Drew frowned deeply and considered the idea for a moment or two before sighing and giving in. "Oh alright…" he agreed. "But let's make it quick."

"Deal." Masami and Katashi answered in unison.

Drew sighed once more and stayed silent for a couple of minutes until he broke his streak. "Hmm, I'm kind of hungry…do you have anything to eat?"

Masami and Katashi glanced at each other before Masami began rummaging through her orange bag.

"Well, I have two apples in here." she said pulling the two crimson fruits from the interior of the bag.

"That's it?" Drew questioned a bit astonished.

Masami shrugged. "Well, if I hadn't noticed these two apples up in a tree back there we wouldn't have anything at all."

Drew blinked. "Wait…are you saying…?"

"We're poor." Katashi answered finishing his question.

"Poor?" Drew echoed, his astonishment growing.

"Not everyone has money…" Masami said softly. "In fact, more people have less money than they do more."

"But I thought…"

"Just because you're a spoiled brat doesn't mean you have to be oblivious to poverty!" Katashi snapped holding Drew by the collar.

"Mi hermano, please!" Masami tried to reason putting her hand gently on her shoulder. "Can we _please_ learn to control your temper? Just because Drew's oblivious doesn't mean he deserves a beating." Masami took a pause to sigh deeply. "Besides, he's not alone…"

Katashi sneered, but violently released Drew anyway, causing him to slam to the ground.

"Fine, but that boy better learn to shut his mouth…" Katashi threatened.

Drew glared up at him rubbing the back of his head in pain.

_Man, what's his problem! I didn't even say anything offensive! Sheesh!_

Masami glanced at Katashi and then at Drew. "Lo siento, Drew…" she apologized bowing to him. She then began walking toward her brother, but stopped suddenly to turn her head down to where he was now sitting. "But…you _did_ deserve it."

Drew's eyes widened.

_The nerve!_

* * *

May sighed, blowing softly which created a stream of bubbles that she used as a form of entertainment. How long she had been doing this was anyone's guess. All she did know was she had been doing it just a little bit _too_ long.

Finding the bubbles less amusing than she did a minute ago, she began search for a new way to cease her boredom.

She tried wagging her arm through the density of the liquid, drawing mindless doodles using the condensation of the glass, and last just plain talking.

After saying a few words, she blinked.

_Hmm, the way my voice sounded was really cool!_

Giggling, she began reciting more and more, finding much amusement of how her words got scrambled. Also realizing talking helped deal with her emotions, she began to spill her thoughts to help cope with her current situation. What she didn't anticipate however was that someone _was_ able to understand her mixed up sentences.

Of course she was going to realize this very reality in mere seconds.

"Tsk, tsk. Either you're insane for talking to yourself, or for some bizarre reason you're reaching out to me. Either way, I suggest you see some help."

May's features firmed as she glared at Damascus.

"Hasn't anyone told you it's rude to ease drop on other people's conversations?"

Damascus shrugged. "No one really ever gave any specifics if the conversation was between s single person."

May's glare deepened. "What do you want?" she asked slowly.

Damascus's smile reappeared. "Patience, my dear. In time, everything will be revealed."

May just sighed. There was no point of reasoning with him.

"You know, none of you ever _did_bother to tell me where we were heading…" Drew pointed out as the trio continued along a dirt path. Their break had ended, but the lack of food was getting the best of Drew. Masami and Katashi being used to the shortage didn't seem to be effected.

Masami laughed. "Come on, Drew! What's the fun of a journey if you actually know where you're going?"

Drew arched an eyebrow at the young girl. "Gee, I don't know…Hmm, wait! Yes I do! If you know where you're going, you eventually get there!"

Katashi glared at Drew. "I don't like that sarcasm in your voice."

Masami merely smiled. "You don't need to know where you're going in order to get there. It's not the destination, but the journey."

Drew hesitated, but sighed. "Alright I'll bite. What do you mean by that?"

Masami turned her attention toward the sky. "Think. On your Pokemon journey, you're one goal is to be the best you can be. The best coordinator, breeder, trainer, etc. Correct?"

Drew nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

"Well, in order to reach your goal, you gave to go on a very long journey. This journey is filled with sorrow, excitement, anger, romance…any emotion you can think of. You meet knew friends, rivals, and make new enemies. The opportunities are endless."

There was a pause, which lasted a bit longer than expected. Katashi getting a bit worried waved his hand in front of Masami's face, causing her to snap out of her trance and continue as if nothing had happened.

"But when you finally reach your goal…then what? You've already done all you can do, you're already the best. How can you improve? You can't, because no one's better than you. Battling and traveling no longer becomes fun. You win every time, and therefore you never gain experience and knowledge from your mistakes. You have every map memorized. You can no longer enjoy exploring and can't find new places. Everyone already knows you. They all have already judged you. You've already fought to make your impression, and you can't do it again. And the list just goes on doesn't it. You see what I'm saying?"

Drew said nothing as he stared at Masami, who was still gazing up into the sky. Why she found that open gap of nothing interesting he'd never know.

He then turned his own attention to the ground, and then to what was ahead of him before finally nodding. He never considered anything she had pointed out before. All this little stuff he was just taking for granted…it was mind boggling.

"I get what you're saying…"

Masami smiled and faced Drew.

"Good."

* * *

**Not very long, I know. But I'm sure you'll all get over it. Just be glad I updated...So yeah, please review and I'll try to get the next chapter up when I can.**


	18. Another Story

**An update? What's with that?!? But seriously, I'm _really_ sorry for taking so long to update. I've had so much school work and I've been totally obsess with drawing so, yeah. I've also had major writer's block. This story shouldn't be much longer though. Enjoy!**

* * *

Once Drew awakened and got his things together, he spotted Masami sitting on the edge of a cliff. Taking another good look around, Drew noticed something was missing… 

"Hey, where's Katashi?" Drew asked approaching Masami. Masami said nothing and merely turned her head so she could just barley see Drew in the corner of her eye.

"Katashi?" she repeated. "He had something to do. He'll be back later."

Drew shifted uneasily but continued. "We're not going to wait for him, are we…? I mean, May…"

Masami smiled and slowly got to her feet, silencing Drew from finishing his sentence. After her Raichu perched itself on the tip of her head and she swung her strap-backpack over her shoulder, she had her eyes meet his.

"_Claro que sí_. We're not letting these sort of obstacles get in our way. I can lead you there myself, ok?"

Drew nodded. At this point he was desperate, and he trusted Masami more than he could ever Katashi.

"Yeah, alright."

* * *

May sighed deeply as she watched the bubbles spurt from her mouth. This form of entertainment was getting old fast. 

_Is anyone going to save me?_ she thought anxiously. _Will…will anyone even figure out where I am…?_

Putting her hand over her chest, she looked around. She realized she currently had no idea where this place could possibly be located. It was dark, and there were many monitors covered in complex equations May couldn't interpret.

May wondered what this man, Damascus, could want from her. He went to the effort to destroy a piece of land, kidnap her, and lock her in a test tube connected to many machines by various colored wires, without a single explanation. Was he simply mad, or was this going to have a drastic effect on others besides her? May gulped and decided she didn't want to think about it.

The sound of automatic doors sliding against metal filled May's ears, and she turned around to see Damascus inches away from the glass and her facial features, causing her shock to make her step back and yelp.

"Miss May, how are you this morning?" he asked with a smirk. If she wasn't too afraid, she'd probably want to wipe it right off his face. She then blinked taking in his greeting.

_Hmm, morning? It always seemed like night here_.

"I'm not bad, considering the fact I'm floating in a test tube!" May spat. Having so little space and being concealed in it for hours upon hours did get irritating after a while.

Damascus shook his head and turned so his back was all May could see.

"You don't have to yell, miss." His tone sounded sad, but May knew he was only acting.

"Oh please, spare me! What do you even want with me?" May asked. The question had been eating away at her for quite some time now.

"All in good time," he answered. Not another word was uttered from his lips as he made his exit.

May just sighed and sat down at the bottom, resting her cheek in her palm. She hoped some miracle would occur getting her out of this situation. If not, she couldn't imagine what could happen.

* * *

"Geeze, how long we've been traveling? It's seems like we've been wondering for hours!" Drew groaned trying the best he could to keep his pace with Masami. 

Masami blinked and turned her attention to the sky, and then rotated her head so she could see Drew while trudging forward.

"We've only been walking for about two hours."

"It seems like more."

"You're under stress."

Drew frowned and didn't respond.

"Well, are we almost there yet?"

Masami smiled and watched her Raichu stare at her questionably.

"Yes," she responded. "We should reach our destination tomorrow afternoon."

Drew arched an eyebrow as he took in her words, but lit up immediately, causing Masami to cock her head in confusion never seeing Drew with this facial expression.

"Are you serious? Finally!" Drew cried. He himself couldn't remember being so happy, not since he was traveling with May that is.

Masami laughed and nodded. "_Sí, _we'll get your girlfriend back."

Drew smiled brightly. "Ok, but where exactly is our destination anyway?"

Masami closed one eye and smiled. "You'll see!"

Drew was too blissful to protest, and merely shrugged and felt an energy boost as he caught up to Masami's rhythm of step and the two headed forward.

* * *

The sound of sirens filled the night air as well as many flashing red and blue lights blinding the night sky from naked eyes. 

Katashi breathed heavily as he stayed quiet within the shadow of a tree concealed in a forest.

_When hiding a tree, hide it in a forest. When there is no forest, make one yourself._

Katashi smirked as he thanked himself for picking mostly black attire for today. He didn't have the mental compacity at the moment to make himself a forest - figuratively speaking of course.

Katashi's thoughts then interrupted, and he pinned himself hard against the trunk of the tree when seeing a flash of light scan the area.

_It's too dull a light source, so it must be a flashlight. They finally got out of those cars and are doing the job themselves. Doesn't matter, they still won't find me. They have to catch me first! _Katashi thought feeling his smirk grow back after it had been wiped away by astonishment.

"Show yourself!" a man cried into the forest. Besides the faint echo of his voice, no response was uttered. Did they really think a running man would answer?

Katashi frowned as he recalled this morning. He felt bad about running out on his sister Masami and Drew like this, without even a notice of him doing so. He thought it over some more, and decided Masami knew what he was doing, and she would be worried, but not enough to do something. He just wished he could be there for defensive purposes, seeing they were up again a pretty dangerous man.

Another call from a different man snapped him back to reality, and Katashi decided he needed to focus on current events at the moment.

Katashi's fists clenched as he thought over his possibilities at the moment. He was getting sick of standing still, but the men were too close to come out from hiding. He could try to outrun them and lose them, but he wondered if he had the stamina to do so after all he had done at this point.

Katashi just merely sighed.

_They just don't understand._

* * *

**There you have it. It's short, but it's all cause of writer's block. Also, I have a pic of Masami and Katashi for your reference. It's int the news part (the top) of my bio, so feel free to have a look! Masami's the yellow-haired one, and Katashi the black-haired. Thanks, and please review:)**


	19. Thorns of a Rose

**A/N: Oh... my... god... I... can't... believe... I... finished... this...**

**But I was just _staring_ at this incomplete story and just _had_ to finish it. I felt _so_ bad because I had already had most of it typed up a long time ago. I just needed a little more and it would be done. I doubt I still have people following this. It's been _years_ since I updated. But I did this a lot for myself as well as people who may read this... because it just had to get _done_ god damn it. **

**And now it _is_ done. **

**I am in so much shock. And I have no excuses for it not being done sooner. _None._**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. I own Katashi and Masami Kaden (Oh wow, it feels weird to say Kaden. I changed their last name to Cadena a long time ago!)**

* * *

"_When Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"_

* * *

Fluttering her eyes open, May yawned lazily and stretched out her arms widely, letting the corner of eyes swell with a single tear.

Once regaining her vision, May felt her arm irritate her a little, and so she trudged her hand through the liquid to soothe it.

To her surprise, May didn't find the smooth texture of her skin but an unknown replacement there instead.

Her heart skipping a beat, May quickly looked down to see something wrapped around her arm. Whatever it was, it was attached to a wire which traveled up through a hole in the roof of the test tube and connected to a computer.

Blinking, May frantically turned her head to see the same fate was for her other arm, as well as her legs.

Trying to keep her cool, May placed her hands on her head to feel something cold and smooth, and screamed at the realization that she was completely hooked up to a machine.

The automatic doors slid open and the now familiar Damascus entered the room and turned to May.

"It suits you." He said simply as he finished scanning the coordinator.

"Get me out of this! Get me out of _here_!" May cried as a response. She couldn't remember the last time she was so upset. And who could blame her?

Damascus frowned and shook his head. "Yelling won't help."

May crossed her arms cursing beneath her breath. She wanted so badly to threaten him, to say, _"You won't get away with this. You __**will**__ be stopped."_ but couldn't bring herself to. She couldn't tell him that when she didn't even believe it herself.

* * *

"We haven't seen Katashi for a day." Drew observed as the duo continued their journey.

Today was the day, the day Masami promised they'd reach May.

_I hope she's alright…_ Drew thought sighing.

His thoughts were interrupted by a response to his question.

"He had a previous engagement." Masami replied, not facing Drew and only the path before her.

Her Raichu however gave Drew a quizzical look, accompanied by a quick bolt of static emitting from its cheeks, before facing forward as well. Drew merely cocked his head.

"…So, how much longer?" Drew asked.

Masami counted her fingers before finally saying, "Seven."

"_Hours_?" Drew groaned in half astonishment.

Masami shook her head.

Drew arched an eyebrow. "Minutes…?"

Masami laughed and shook her head once more. "You wish. It's just that you've asked me that question seven times."

Drew laughed nervously. "Oh, sorry."

Masami smiled. "It's ok, but to answer your question it should only be about an hour more."

Drew brightened and nodded. "Got it, won't ask again."

Masami smiled, but doubted his answer anyway. "Whatever you say."

After about another 20 minutes of travel, Masami suddenly dropped to a sitting position, causing Drew to bend down to her side a little worried.

"Um, are you ok?" he asked.

Masami's eyes were closed when she fell, and once Drew was next to her she opened the eye closest to him and smiled. Drew, potentially confused, stood up and took a step back as Masami got to her feet.

"Shall we keep going?" she asked.

"Sure, but what was that—"

A flash of white light, and Drew noticed a Roselia between him and Masami. Giving an apologetic look, Drew reached for his pokeball to return it, but felt the motion of his hand stop when realizing Masami was holding him back, leaving Drew to give her a questionable look.

"That's not your Roselia." Masami said.

Blinking, Drew gave a good look at the Roselia and his eyes widened.

How could he be so oblivious? Sure the Roselia had a crimson rose, but its second one was filled with ebony petals! Nothing like the azure petals his Roselia possessed.

Masami merely laughed and returned Roselia.

"Sorry about that, my Roselia can be a bit paranoid."

Drew nodded. "That black rose it has is awesome, but I'm sorry to hear about it being paranoid."

Masami smiled. "I saved it from Team Magma, which explains her paranoia. She in fact opened my eyes to the deepness of a black rose."

Drew cocked his head, and Masami laughed.

"We should get going if we want to save your girlfriend by today."

Drew blinked and nodded. "R-right! Let's go."

* * *

Awakened by a crystal drop of rain, Katashi's eyes shot open and he got to his feet abruptly.

Breathing heavily, he cautiously peeked around the side of the tree and took a sigh of relief.

_Good, they're gone._

Even though gray clouds were producing rain, the sky was still bright, which meant everything else looked bright as well. Nothing else could be heard but cascading rain.

_I guess I hid here the whole night…_

Deciding that he needed to check on his sister and Drew for defensive purposes, Katashi went through the forest until he reached some sort of civilization. Still keeping a low profile, he moved on through the city.

* * *

May shuddered as she watched Damascus doing various technical things with his computers. The screens were flashing different colors, and May yelped once the water began draining.

Damascus smiled wickedly and turned around. "Is that better?"

May just crossed her arms and let out a "Hmph!" causing Damascus to chuckle a little.

"I thought so."

Another question that had been eating away at May since she got here had now managed to escape her lips.

"Where am I, anyway?"

Damascus looked around potentially confused and turned his attention back at her.

"In my base, of course." he answered simply.

May rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I figured that one out. But where exactly is your base _located_?"

Damascus blinked and then smiled. "What's the fun if I tell you?"

May was about to spat something back at him, but stopped when she saw Damascus walking towards the exit.

"There's something I need to attend to."

Leaving May with more questions than before, Damascus left the room.

May sighed.

_Unbelievable._

* * *

The forest was getting more and more dense by the second, and Drew was getting irritated to have to zigzag between all the vegetation.

"How much longer?" he asked almost tripping for the fourth time.

"Eight." Masami simply said.

Drew smiled. "Minutes?"

"No."

Drew frowned, and once realizing what she meant, he rolled his eyes.

"Sorry."

Masami nodded. "Actually, now that you mention it, we should be arriving at our destination any minute now."

Drew's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Masami smiled. "Sí."

Drew looked around excitedly. "Which direction?"

Masami pointed skywards, and Drew traced her direction and took a step back in astonishment.

"A v-volcano?" he asked in disbelief. "_This_ is where May is?"

Masami nodded. "Mhm, this is Mt. Silver. I'm positive your girlfriend's here."

"And what makes you so sure?"

Masami smiled and rummaged through the contents of her backpack until she pulled out the riddle.

"As scorching as the intensity of a blazing star, as dangerous as a simple poison injecting through your blood. This is where darkness shall rise." she recited.

Drew cocked his head and took in the riddle, and after thinking about it for a minute he decided a volcano would suit the description very nicely.

"But how do you know it's _this _volcano?" he asked unsurely.

"Well, Mt. Silver is the most famous and largest mountain in the Johto region."

"I didn't know that."

"Now you do."

"…Can we focus?"

"Right! My bad."

Looking around, the duo searched for an entrance.

"Suppose we have to enter through the mouth?" Masami questioned.

"Or maybe it's placed in the side somewhere." Drew suggested.

A rush picked up suddenly, causing Masami and Drew to almost fall over due to the heavy weight of the quick burst of wind.

Masami looked around frantically. "What was that?"

Drew was mimicking Masami's actions. "You got me."

Hearing a grunt, the two turned around to see a Dusclops standing before them gathering energy for the move Shadow Ball.

"Where the hell did this thing come from?" Drew spat taking a step back.

Masami tensed up and looked around with a somewhat angered expression.

"I don't know, but we need to get away from it."

Drew was about to say something else, but his statement was interrupted by a second Shadow Ball which was avoided at the last second, and as soon as that was done Dusclops began powering up again.

"Make a run for it!" Masami cried grabbing his arm and attempting to weave her way through the trees to the base of the volcano.

Drew was running frantically as he felt his arm practically being ripped off my Masami's grip and speed. Looking down, he noticed something was missing and gasped and looked back.

"Hold on, I dropped something!" Drew said as he yanked himself away from Masami and ran back towards where he came.

Masami skidded to a stop and shot herself around. "Drew, wait!"

Panting, Drew bent down to grab May's bandana which had untied itself from his arm during the excitement.

Smiling, he got back to his feet only to be pounced on by Masami back to the ground, followed by a banging sound in the distance.

"BE MORE CAREFUL!" Masami spat hitting the back of his head. "YOU COULDV'E GOTTEN YOURSELF KILLED!"

Drew looked at her astonished. He had never seen this side of Masami before, and wasn't sure how to respond. Instead he just nodded and got up only to quickly dodge another attack.

"Ugh! This is getting _pathetic!_" Masami cried taking out a pokeball. "Roselia, go!" She then turned to her Raichu and nodded. "You too!"

Raichu and Roselia took their positions and waited for their instructions.

"Ok, Raichu, use thunderbolt!"

Charging up, a great bolt of lighting struck form its body right towards the ghost Pokemon. Before it could hit, the Dusclops easily avoided and Masami's fist clenched.

"Raichu, try again!"

Repeating his last actions, Raichu obeyed. Dusclops got a direct hit, and Masami smirked when seeing the smoke build up, but her face dropped however when she saw it emerge perfectly unharmed charging for Raichu.

"RAICHU DODGE!" Masami demanded.

Dusclops was coming too fast for avoidance, and Raichu cringed as it awaited its hit, but after feeling no pain Raichu blinked and turned forward to see Roselia countering the attack with magical leaf.

Masami laughed. "Roselia, nice one! Now use petal dance!"

Roselia nodded and emitted a beautiful string of petals that began picking up speed as they shot towards Dusclops. Dusclops thought it could avoid, but didn't realize the petals were firing in all directions and ended up getting caught in the middle of the mess, taking full damage as well as a critical hit.

Masami snapped her finger and wanted to jump a foot high. The rush of a battle always got her spirit and determination in full gear.

"That's the way Roselia! Now Raichu, use thunder!"

Smirking, Raichu built up his electricity and unleashed it in one blast, sending a powerful volt of lighting right for the trapped Dusclops.

Smoke began stirring again once Dusclops took the hit, and Masami watched intently for some sort of motion or for the smoke to die down.

Once the dust cleared, the Dusclops was found on the ground struggling to get up, and Masami laughed.

"Like I said, pathetic." she said satisfied.

Drew ran to Masami's sighed and stared wide eyed at the Dusclops. At that moment he felt pathetic himself. He could've aided Masami's battle, but instead he watched in fear. What was he becoming? He was never like this before. He supposed May being kidnapped was really taking impact on him.

Masami wiped her forehead and took a deep breath. "That was a good practice battle! Now come on Drew, we don't have much time. I think that Dusclops was ordered to attack us by Damascus, which means he knows we're here."

Drew nodded to show he understood. "Right."

* * *

Shifting his eyes, Katashi took a good look to the right, and then a good look to the left, before deciding he could dart through this next portion of the forest. Double checking just to make sure, Katashi sprinted off easily weaving his way though the trees and what not. Living right outside a dense forest came in handy.

Katashi was panting by now, which told him he had being running for hours. He had a very well built stamina. He smiled though when seeing the tip of Mt. Silver in the near distance, and that was just what he needed to give him that extra boost to get him to the volcano.

Hearing a bang, he practically jumped out of surprise and quickly rummaged through the bushes until he was able to get a good view of what just happened.

Keeping himself hidden, he saw Masami and Drew get to their feet and Masami summon two of her Pokemon.

_I…I should help!_ Katashi thought. Many thoughts were rushing through his head right now, (there always were) but most were pointing towards helping.

But after seeing Masami get back into the battle and making a comeback, he blinked and smirked.

_No. This is Masami's time to shine._

Katashi knew he had to be supportive of his little sister, and coming in and saying that she needed his help and taking over was practically saying, "You're too immature and irresponsible to handle this. I'll take over from here."

After his and Masami's parents died (their mother of cancer and their father from suicide a year later) he had to become the responsible adult for his sister's sake at age nine. Life was hard, and they barely managed to pull though, but somehow they did. Even with his condition, Katashi refused to leave for help if it meant abandoning his sister. Why couldn't anyone understand?

The final blow of the battle snapped Katashi back into reality, and he turned to see the Dusclops unconscious on the ground and Masami and Drew running towards to volcano.

_Better follow them…_

With a nod, Katashi waited until they were far ahead so he could trail them without being caught and made his move.

* * *

May was struggling for air, she felt as though all of this metal clinging to her body was getting tighter by the second. It was clearly a psychological effect her mind was making considering the situation, but logic just seemed irrational at the moment.

Images of her family and friends began drowning in her thoughts and she broke into tears right on the spot. Her tears felt hot as they streamed down her face, and she could taste salt water as they began splattering everywhere.

She felt helpless…so vulnerable. She felt as though she no longer mattered, as if she had faded from the face of the earth. And no one cared. She just wept harder, until crying became painful. Her throat felt dry and she just wanted this all to end.

_Drew? Where are you? I need you_… she thought. Why was it Drew was never there when she needed him most?

May blinked. No, he saved her from drowning in the tower during her first few days in Johto. She had already thought she was a goner, but he pulled through. It wouldn't be fair to count him out just yet. Drew was a pretty incredible guy, after all. And she trusted him with her life; she always had.

She gasped for air and messily wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and allowed herself to calm down. Just having that one single ray of hope shine through, that one thought of Drew, seemed to ease all her pain. It all just disappeared, and a smile broke onto her face.

And then she laughed.

First starting off as a giggle, and then a quiet laugh or two, and then a sudden bust of happiness shot through her body.

She held her side to keep it from hurting, and she could feel herself cry again, but didn't wipe away the tears. These tears were worth staining her face.

She calmed down once more, and looked up smiling.

_I know you'll save me Drew…I trust you._

* * *

"Almost there!" Masami cried breathing heavily. She hadn't been running for very long, but that battle took a good chunk of her stamina with it.

Drew nodded. He really didn't feel the need to speak during this whole situation. Sometimes it was best to just stay quiet.

Once reaching the base of the volcano after an eternity of running (to Drew that is), there was a path spiraling around the volcano leading upwards.

"This looks like a good bet." Masami observed nodding.

Drew nodded as well. "Yeah, it's bound to lead us somewhere."

Getting ready to climb up to the ledge, Masami took a deep breath and looked for a good rock to grab onto first.

Before she could finish scanning however, she noticed the sun disappear and was engulfed by shadows.

Looking up, Masami's eyes widened to see Damascus's figure in the center of the sun, blocking its rays from reaching her.

"This ends here; you can't go on any further." Damascus said calmly. Masami clenched her first and took out her pokeball.

"No way, we've come too far. Let's decide this with a battle."

"No."

Masami blinked and turned around to Drew stepping in front of her, his own pokeball grasped tightly in his right hand.

"Drew?" Masami questioned cocking her head. "What are you doing?"

Drew turned around to face Masami. "Let me battle him instead. It's my fault you're dragged out here, so let me do the honor. You can go find May, ok?"

Masami stared at Drew for a good minute taking in his offer, and finally she smiled and nodded.

"Right, you got it."

Drew smiled as well, and Masami ran off in the other direction. She could probably find another way onto the path besides here.

"So, _you_ want to battle me?" Damascus asked as if it was a mere joke.

Drew frowned and released his Roselia. "Do you want to waste time or do you want to battle?"

Damascus grinned wickedly and a flash of white light faded to show a Celebi with black eyes; empty eyes.

"What the hell did you do to that Pokemon?" Drew spat seeing the monotone gaze the Celebi had.

Damascus chuckled. "Do you want to waste time or do you want to battle?"

Drew growled but nodded, he could settle this later. Celebi was a legendary Pokemon, he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to beat it. He wasn't really trying to win though; his plan was to use this battle as a way to stall so Masami could have more time to rescue May.

Damascus jumped from the cliff and smirked.

"So how about you make the first move?"

Drew managed to pull a smile on his face as well, one showing his determination.

"My pleasure."

* * *

_There has to be another way in_… Masami thought as she approached the other side of the volcano.

Placing her hand on the exterior of the mountain, Masami bent over and began breathing heavily. She hated being so out of breath so quickly! She put more energy into that battle than she thought, and now she was paying the consequences for it.

Raichu jumped from Masami's head and climbed up the side of the volcano, making Masami look up to see where he was going and smiled when she spotted Raichu on the edge of the pathway.

"Good work, Raichu!" Masami praised clapping her hands together.

"Rai!" it chirped back happily, a bolt of static emitting from its cheek. Masami laughed, she loved when Raichu emitted static. He had so much excess electricity, and this was just how he chose to gradually get rid of it.

Masami smiled and firmly gripped a rock which was standing out on the side of the volcano, and carefully as well as cautiously she began to ascend.

Raichu watched her intently as his form of spotting. He wasn't sure what he could do if Masami was in fact to fall, but it never hurt to be on the safe side.

When Masami finally got to the top, she stayed in a sitting position and panted for a moment, and Raichu gave her a minute to rest until he began running down the path, making Masami quickly get to her feet and follow after him. She kept going onward to keep up with Raichu.

Smiling, she looked down at her Raichu to see he found a door at the side of the volcano.

The entrance.

* * *

So many thoughts were racing through Drew's head at the moment. What attack should he use first? What would be most effective against a Celebi anyway? Celebi can fly, right? Couldn't it just avoid the attack? Wait, no, it could teleport too! Even better, it doesn't even have to try.

_It's got me beat before I've begun._

Drew frowned at this sudden wave of self-doubt. A legendary was hard enough to beat in the wild, but judging by the look in Celebi's eyes Drew concluded Damascus must've done something to it to increase its power. Joy.

"I'm waiting." Damascus answered in what Drew assumed to be a condescending manner.

Drew clenched his fist and straightened his posture. Then taking a deep breath, he made his move.

"Roselia, use stun spore!" Drew demanded. He wished he could take it back; what a stupid move to begin the battle.

Damascus merely shrugged and snapped his finger, and with a flash of light, the Celebi was gone.

_I saw that coming too…_ Drew thought mentally hitting himself.

Another flash, and Celebi appeared unleashing a ball of intense energy right from behind Roselia.

"ROSE!" it shouted crashing to the ground awkwardly on its side.

Drew's eyes widened and he cringed at Roselia's landing.

"Come on Roselia, get back up!" he urged in a pleading manner.

Roselia struggled for a bit and slowly managed to stand up properly.

"Rose." it said smirking. Drew smirked as well.

"Awesome Roselia! Now use magical leaf!"

Roselia nodded and released many glowing leaves, all which took aim and began firing towards Celebi with blinding speed.

Drew clenched his fist with a smug look that grew wider the nearer the leaves got to Celebi.

Another snap from Damascus, another light flashing in the sky, and another disappearance of the legendary Pokemon occurred.

_DAMN IT!_ Drew screamed mentally. How in the world was he supposed to beat this thing?

"There's no hope of winning." Damascus stated calmly with a shrug.

A bolt of blue light flew through the air and directly hit Celebi. Damascus looked stunned and turned around to see a Gastly with a blue aura. Staring at it for a moment longer, he saw a teenage boy emerge from the bushes.

Damascus growled. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"The name's Katashi. I'm here to assist Drew."

Damascus looked at Gastly in disbelieve and burst into laugher.

"You plan to beat me with _that_? It hasn't even evolved!"

Katashi shrugged taking no effect from his Gastly being mocked. He knew Damascus was trying to boil him up, and it wouldn't work. He was immune to these typed of things.

"If my Gastly is so pathetic how did it manage to directly hit your Celebi there?" Katashi asked arching an eyebrow.

Damascus's fist clenched. "You caught me by surprise is all."

Katashi smirked. "Right, my mistake."

Damascus looked like he was about to spat something else at the teenage boy, but he then stopped when he was interrupted.

The three blinked and Drew loosened himself to hear a noise off in the distance. First starting faint, the sound began to get louder…and louder, and louder.

Drew covered his ears at the high pitch screech.

Damascus frowned and looked at the volcano, and then walked over to Drew.

"We'll have to continue this later." Damascus told Drew in his ear after gently pulling his hand off of it.

Still wincing, Drew opened one eye. "What?" he said barley able to even hear himself. But taking another look, he noticed Damascus was gone.

Katashi looked unaffected by the alarm, and turned his attention up to the mouth of the volcano.

_It's all up to you now, Masami._

* * *

Masami took a deep breath and expanded her arm until she had the knob in tight grasp. The cold metal in her palm sent a quick shiver up her spine. Looking down at her Raichu, she then turned her attention back at the door and slowly turned the knob.

Nothing.

Masami sighed and let go of the locked door. "Even I could have predicted that."

Raichu cocked its head and looked up at his trainer. "Raichu Rai?" he asked.

Masami blinked and smiled. She was connected to her Raichu, and therefore had a knack for understanding his language.

"Sure, give it a shot." she offered taking a step back.

Building up electricity, Raichu ran backwards and turned around to face the door with lighting shooting from its cheeks. Raichu then began running towards the door, and once he gained enough speed his whole body was engulfed in lighting. With blinding speed, he charged straight to the door, ramming into the metal exterior and knocking it back a good three yards.

"Awesome volt tackle, Raichu. Very impressive." Masami complimented with a smile.

Raichu nodded and kept going farther inside the volcano. Masami took a deep breath and entered herself, catching up with her close companion.

"This place is huge, how will we know where to start looking?" Masami asked doubtfully.

Raichu didn't answer and continued to jerk its head from left to right, becoming more cautious and familiar with the new environment.

Masami blinked when coming across a large computer. Squinting, Masami leaned closer to the monitor to get a better look at the picture opened up on the screen.

"Whoa, take a look at this." Masami murmured as Raichu perched itself right on the edge of the keyboard, making sure he didn't push anything.

The screen showed a Pokemon Masami had never seen before, and traveling a couple regions herself, Masami was familiar with quite a few Pokemon.

Raichu cocked his head as well. That told Masami he hadn't had a clue about the mysterious Pokemon either.

Masami frowned and turned to her Raichu. "We'll research this later. We're on a mission right now, remember?"

Raichu nodded, a spark of electricity flashing from its cheeks. "Rai!"

Masami and Raichu then continued onward, opening every door and checking every wall they came across.

"Rai!" Raichu called running over to a staircase.

_How…unconventional. _Masami thought looking down to see where the staircase leads. All she saw however was darkness.

Raichu looked up at Masami with determination, and then sprinted madly down the stairs. Masami watched intently until he was out of sight, and then could only hear the faint thumping sound of his feet making contact with the wooden steps.

Smiling, Masami then made her way down as well.

* * *

May's head had been buried in her knees for quite some time now. Her eyes were dry; she had been crying for hours. Her throat throbbed, and if that one speck of hope hadn't been showing, if that one thought that told May someone was coming hadn't been ringing in her ear, she would have probably considered – or even committed – suicide. That pain was overbearing. She felt worse than a prisoner.

Hearing faint footsteps, May shot her head up and turned her attention to the automatic door. She shuddered, expecting Damascus to emerge with that smug look on his face.

May's expression shifted into pure astonishment however when not a shady man stood in the door, but a teenage girl instead.

May blinked when she noticed a Raichu running towards her before the girl even got to take her first step.

May pressed herself against the back of the glass when she saw Raichu building up electricity, but then was stopped when the girl finally made her way over and ordered it to stop.

"You might hit May." she said simply. Raichu nodded to show it understood.

May frowned and cocked her head.

_How does she know my name?_

The girl smiled as she squatted down to May's level.

"¡Hola!" she greeted happily. "I'm Masami, and I have orders from Drew to get you out of here!"

May's heart skipped a beat just by hearing his name. Drew was here after all!

Masami then got up and scanned the room.

"What are you looking for?" May asked.

Masami blinked and turned to May. "Well, a button or a switch. Something that'll release you from that pod."

May shut her eyes and tried remembering if she ever saw such a thing. She knew the controls pretty well, since all she could really do now was watch what was going on outside of the pod.

"Oh!" May exclaimed widening her eyes. Masami turned to her expectantly. "Try that one right over there, the blue one!" May directed as she pointed to a button on the left side of the controls.

Masami pointed to a couple blue ones herself until May nodded in confirmation when she got the right one.

Smiling, Masami pushed the azure button and an alarm sounded the room.

"Quick, hide!" May pleaded. She didn't want her one hope of escape to be captured as well.

"No, no. It's just a signal for the release." Masami assured.

May calmed down a bit when she noticed Masami was right, and smiled when the doors of the pod began rising slowly. Becoming impatient, May squeezed through an opening in the bottom as soon as it was tall enough for her to fit.

Masami smiled as Raichu perched himself on her head. "Awesome, now let's get the hell out of here."

"Right." replied May. She couldn't agree more.

* * *

"Maybe we should go in and help." suggested Drew taking a step towards the volcano. Before he could get anywhere though, his collar was yanked and Katashi made him immobile.

"Masami can handle it on her own." he said firmly.

Drew frowned. "Yeah, but…"

"Just be patient, they shouldn't be much longer."

"But…but what if they got caught or attacked or something? We need to go see! They might need us!"

Katashi glanced over at Drew with an irritated expression.

"We're staying right here. End of discussion."

Drew wanted to plead some more for the sake of May, but something about the look in Katashi's eye kept him quiet.

"Katashi! Drew!"

The two boys turned their bodies to see Masami running towards them waving. But Masami wasn't the one who brightened Drew's face, but the girl who was with her.

Once May got and stood in front of Drew, she bent over and began to pant. Drew did nothing at this point, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. May was here. She was here right in front of him, and he wasn't even imagining it this time.

"You did good, you know that right?" Katashi told Masami looking down at her.

Masami smiled brightly and bowed her head slightly. "I try."

Once May had put herself back together, she felt herself break into pieces again and fell into Drew's arms, who embraced her tightly.

"I was so scared…" she whispered. She was on the verge of tears, and Drew could hear it in her voice.

"It's going to be ok…I'm here now…" Drew assured her softly, burying his head further into the side of her head.

May smiled. "I know."

"As nice a moment as this is, we really can't stay here." Katashi said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

May and Drew let each other go and looked at the researcher expectantly.

Masami took a look at the two coordinators and then at her brother. "Here's an idea," She started, waiting until she had everybody's attention. "Why don't you two go on ahead and Katashi and I will hold Damascus back for as long as we can." She shrugged and eyed Drew. "That is if you think you can handle protecting your girlfriend by yourself."

A blush crept across May's face, and she was about to deny everything, but Drew cut her off.

"No worries." Drew assured firmly.

May cocked her head. She didn't know how often Drew had that word tossed around him over the past few days.

"Maybe you should go with him and_ I'll_ stall him…" Katashi went on crossing his arm.

Masami shook her head and smiled. "This is Drew's chance; don't take it away from him."

Katashi leaned closer to her and said in a whisper, "But what of something happens to them?"

"What ever happens happens. Only time will tell."

Katashi arched an eyebrow but said nothing further. He then turned to May and Drew and swung his arm at them.

"Go!" he cried. "_Quickly_!"

The two nodded and darted off. Once they were out of site, Masami and Katashi turned back to the volcano and called forth their Raichu and Gastly.

"Be prepared, he's coming." Katashi warned.

Masami nodded. "I'm ready."

* * *

Drew's heart was thumping so loudly that he couldn't hear himself think. Even if he could, he wouldn't have been able to decipher the scrambled unfinished statements floating through his mind.

He glanced quickly to the side to make sure May was still behind him. Even though he was grasping tightly to May's arm, the rush of the moment was making him more paranoid than usual.

Drew wasn't sure what was going on or where they were heading, but anywhere was better than that volcano. Everything just seemed to be a blur; what did that man want with May?

Drew shuddered. Masami and Katashi couldn't stall Damascus for long; not with his Pokemon. He'd come after them, after May. Running wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"Drew, I can't run anymore!" May sobbed.

Drew frowned. He knew dragging May was getting more difficult; she was trudging.

"Just keep it up a little longer!" he urged giving her a fake smile.

"But where are we going?"

Drew shifted his eyes from right to left and answered her hesitantly.

"I don't know."

May gulped and Drew could see tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

"Drew…what's going to happen to me? To us…?"

Drew looked back at her but didn't stop running. He just had to lie to her and tell her it would all be ok.

No…he had to be honest with her. What kind of person would he be if he lied to her? He had to tell her what she needed to hear; not what she wanted.

Drew then slowed his pace and skidded to a stop. He could feel the rain drops pounding into his skin like icicles.

Wait…rain? Since when was it raining?

"Drew?" May asked. Her voice was rasp and shaky.

Drew looked down and then turned to her. "May…" he started. This was harder than he thought it would be.

"What?"

"The truth is…well, we're…I don't think we'll make it."

May's eyes widened and Drew felt a dagger stab through his heart. And although it was raining, her blood red eyes were enough to tell me her tears were freely streaming by now.

Everything was silent now, except for the soothing rhythm of rain drops. But even their beat was filled with depression.

Time felt like it had froze, and Drew couldn't recall how long he'd been staring into May's eyes. Her lovely, deep blue eyes…He figured he'd take a good long look. He was sure he'd never get the chance to do so again.

And now that Drew thought about it…who knows if he'll ever get a chance to say…to say…

"May," Drew started keeping eye contact. He tried as hard as he could to hide the hint of nervousness in his voice. "I need to tell you something."

May looked at Drew like how a child looked innocently at human philosophy. A look that showed how they listened, but they weren't sure what was going on and how they'd never truly understand. He prayed she'd understand this though.

May nodded timidly and didn't dare to utter a word.

"Since the day I met you, well…I've always…You see, I…" Drew frowned as he listened to the nonsense coming from his mouth. Why was it so hard to say three simple words? It seemed so easy; he always thought about doing it, but he never realized how difficult the real deal was.

"Drew, are you…?" May's voice was quiet and dry. It was almost too hushed to hear over the downpour.

Drew took a deep breath and May took a small step towards me. The gap between them was barely anything to begin with, so her movement seemed so much larger than it actually was.

After another minute passed Drew began to realize just how close they were. Their heads were mere centimeters apart and no matter how hard he tried, they just kept drawing closer.

They both stopped when their foreheads gently met and they took another long look into each others eyes.

"Drew, I…"

May was pleasantly interrupted when Drew pulled her a bit closer by the shoulder and had her lips meet his. The phrase "actions speak louder than words" had never been clearer to him now than this moment here.

The kiss was short and innocent, and they pulled away with a sense of longing.

"I love you, May," Drew said softly. It was so much easier after what just happened. "And if I don't get the chance to tell you later I'll say it again…I love you."

May's body was trembling, and then she collapsed into his arms. "I love you too." She whispered. "Now until death."

Drew laughed half-heartedly. "Even in death…"

May smiled and clutched tightly to my shirt. "Right."

Drew smiled as well and held May close to him. He savored this moment while he still could. After another minute they'd need to continue their escape.

Drew looked up and then back at May. As much as he didn't want this moment to end, he knew they had to keep going. If they didn't, they'd be more vulnerable than ever. They needed to run as a chance for survival.

A chance for a new life, together…

* * *

"Raichu!" Masami cried running to her Pokemon's side. Raichu groaned and struggled to get to his feet, but managed to in the end.

"You can't defeat me." Damascus said proudly as Celebi began storing power.

Katashi clenched his fist. "Gastly, use shadow ball!"

Gastly obeyed and mimicked Celebi by storing energy. Masami turned to the duel curiously and Raichu took this opportunity to take a quick rest to regain his status.

Katashi smirked when seeing Gastly was ready to go, but his face dropped immediately when Gastly was struck by a beam before it had a chance to make its move.

"Give up yet?" Damascus asked in a condescending manor. Katashi could feel his body temperature rising and felt as though he was about to burst at any moment. All Masami could do was stay put to protect her defenseless Raichu hoping the Pokemon weren't the only ones who were going to get hurt.

"We'll never give up." Katashi stated firmly.

Damascus chuckled. "You can't win."

Masami frowned and got to her feet. "Then how about actually playing fair and using a Pokemon you've trained properly? Cheating like this is only showing your fear."

Damascus scowled and jerked his body to Celebi.

"Celebi, go search for the other two in the woods. Apparently you're not wanted here."

Masami's glare deepened when seeing her own words used against her. Neither she nor Katashi did anything to stop the Celebi from weaving through the woods. They didn't even turn in that direction.

"Aren't you going to go save your friends?" he asked innocently.

Katashi smirked and crossed his arms. "And leave you alone? I don't think so."

Masami smiled and stood by her brother's side. "Without your possessed Pokemon, you're just a normal trainer. Care for a real battle now?"

Damascus smiled and closed his eyes. "No thanks, I have two children to locate."

Katashi growled and began making his way toward Damascus, and once he was close enough to strike Damascus took this moment to make his final statement.

"If you make one false move I'll call the police."

Katashi stopped dead in his tracks. Damascus smiled wickedly; he had them right where he wanted them now.

"You wouldn't dare!" Katashi grimaced not moving from where he was standing.

"Try me! If you dare to lay a finger on me or go after your friends, I'll call the police and let them know I know the location of Katashi Kaden, the man who killed five people."

Katashi frowned and took a step backwards. Could he really risk it?

Masami was wide-eyed, and she couldn't help but dart her vision from Damascus to Katashi, not sure what to do in this situation. She frowned when Damascus turned to her.

"That goes for you too. For the sake of your brother, you will not do anything to interfere."

Masami's heart began pounding. What should she do? She had to help May and Drew… But she couldn't risk her brother's safety…

"Don't drag Masami into this." Katashi threatened.

"You be quiet!" Damascus snapped. Masami remained silent.

Damascus smirked and began to head into the forest. Before getting too far, he turned around to face to two siblings.

"Remember, no interfering. If you don't want any trouble then just stay right there."

Katashi and Masami said nothing as they watched him become out of sight. And most important, the two didn't budge an inch.

* * *

"Here, take a quick rest." Drew told May as she collapsed onto the icy ground.

The rain felt as though it was getting stronger, and the fact that they were soaked made them feel heavier and harder to move.

"I can't do this…" May cried. Her eyes were shut so tight that it brought pain to her making her cry harder.

Drew stared at May sadly and almost felt like crying himself. The situation they were stuck in was heavy, and he could see why May would feel hopeless.

"Come on, don't think like that…" Drew said softly bending down to her level. He gently placed his hand on her back and smiled.

May looked up at him with that same innocent expression, and found much comfort in his emerald eyes.

"We need to think more positive, alright?"

May said nothing for another moment, and during the silence she looked down at the ground in thought before turning to Drew and nodding.

"You're right." she said smiling. Drew smiled as well and carefully helped May to her feet, giving her support when she almost lost her balance.

After making sure May could stand on her own, Drew took a step back and May shook her head.

"This is so unbelievable." she said in almost a whisper.

Drew blinked. "What is?"

"Just everything…"

After another moment of silence, May spoke again.

"I don't want to die, Drew."

Drew frowned and took May's hand, and they began walking through the forest.

"May," he started in a more serious tone. "I swear, I'll do everything I can to protect you, even if it means dying for you to live."

"…I wouldn't even want to live myself if you were to die."

Drew stopped walking and May blinked and cocked her head. "What's wrong?"

"Don't say that."

May didn't say anything; she was a little too shocked by Drew's new tone.

"May, I want you to be happy. Don't kill yourself. Not over me."

"I'd be happier in death with you then life alone."

Drew said nothing for a moment. May was about to speak up but yelped at the sudden jolt through her body as Drew grabbed her shoulders to make her face him.

"Promise me, May." he said not letting May tear away from his gaze. "Promise me no matter what happens, we'll try to live our lives even if the other's gone."

"But…"

"_May_."

May gulped and was on the verge of tears. The density of the situation wanted May to just crash down to the ground into a million sharp and tiny pieces.

"I…" May shut her eyes and bowed her head so her face could no longer be seen. "I promise Drew…"

Drew nodded and began moving again, and after a moment May began moving as well. Drew stopped and waited for May to catch up, and when she did they just kept on going.

"Let's stop…" May murmured after about 10 minutes of traveling. Drew glanced over at May and frowned.

May was trudging, no limping, and had one arm dangling uselessly to her side while her other was wrapped around Drew's neck for support.

"…Sure." Drew whispered. He happened to be out of breath as well. After all, what was the point of running if they were just going to get caught anyway?

Drew carefully kneeled down with May pressed against him. Her eyes were shut and she was breathing heavily. Drew gently held the back of May's head and slowly ascended her down until her full body was in contact with the ground.

May smiled. She enjoyed feeling the beating rain cascading on her skin. It felt so refreshing, so…full of hope.

Drew smiled softly at May who had fallen asleep after a minute. She looked so peaceful; he really hated thinking about their futures right now.

Drew shook his head once he felt himself feel drowsy. One downside to a peaceful sleep was a sense of innocence and vulnerability. Drew knew he had to stay awake to protect himself, and more importantly, May.

Drew shot up to his feet when heard some rustling near by. He clenched his fist and positioned himself in front of May.

"Who's there?" Drew growled. Nothing but the heavy rain was heard. "_Show yourself!_"

Another moment of silence and Drew was ready to check it out for himself, but just before he was about to take his first step a ball of energy fired from a close by bush. Drew's eyes widened and he quickly ducked to the ground and rolled on his side getting straight back up as a dodge.

Drew said nothing and waited intently for something more to happen, not tearing his gaze away from the bush.

Everything then began flashing, and Drew jerked his body left and right in panic. He kept turning to May just to make sure she was still there.

"_What is this?_" Drew cried shutting his eyes. This bright flashing was making him shake.

Drew's eyes hesitantly opened as he looked up. The flashing had stopped, and Drew turned his attention to the bush once more.

Giving the shrub a suspicious look, Drew went to check on May but was met face to face with Celebi and backed up wincing.

Drew's eyes darted from the Celebi to May without moving any part of his body. Celebi was currently closer to May and he had to make sure it didn't take advantage of that.

"You ran off so fast, I never got to properly introduce myself."

Drew quickly turned around to see Damascus standing before him with a smug look on his face.

"Save it, I know who you are." Drew snapped glancing back quickly at May.

Damascus sighed and began taking slow steps towards Drew who continued hold his ground.

"Roselia, go!" Drew called releasing his Pokemon.

"Rose!" it shouted taking a battle position waiting for further instructions.

Damascus ceased movement and looked at Roselia wearily.

"Haven't we already done this?" he asked as Celebi teleported itself in front of him.

"Shut up and battle!" Drew demanded not wanting to hear another word.

Damascus shrugged. "As you wish."

* * *

Katashi paced back and forth as Masami sat on the ground ruffling her Raichu's fur.

"You think they're ok?" Masami asked looking up at her older brother.

Katashi kept moving and shut his eyes. "I don't know. It doesn't look good, though."

"…I wish we could do something to help." Masami muttered. Katashi frowned and sat down next to his younger sister.

"So do I, but…" Katashi paused as his sentence trailed off. Masami looked at him expectantly. "…We just can't."

Masami's eyes were watering. "How long are you going to let that control your life?" she asked shakily.

Katashi tilted his head with wide eyes. "I…" He frowned. He had no excuse for why he wasn't out there helping May and Drew. He was just afraid.

"Please, Katashi…"

The people Katashi had killed… it was all a misunderstanding. Not that that ever sounded good coming from the mouth of a murderer… but Katashi would fight that statement to the very end. He has just been held back by fear to bring to light the truth.

But he couldn't be afraid anymore.

This was his chance to atone.

"…Okay." Katashi finally spoke. Masami gave Katashi an astonished look. Katashi chuckled and helped her to her feet. "Ready to go?"

Masami laughed. "Let's go."

* * *

Roselia was panting heavily bent down on one knee. Drew's fist was clenched as he looked hopefully at his Pokemon, while Damascus smirked with Celebi floating unharmed.

"Pathetic." he said merely shrugging off the whole battle as if it never happened. "Now back to business…" he went on eyeing the sleeping May.

Drew raised an eyebrow and traced Damascus's vision and his eyes widened.

"_Don't…you…dare…_" Drew growled glaring intently.

Damascus chuckled as if to mock Drew's actions, and took a step forward.

No sure what to do or what he was going to do, Drew extended his arm and formed a protective stance. Damascus stopped and two just stared at each other, watching…waiting.

"And what are you going to do?" Damascus asked darkly. "What happens when I take another step?"

"You won't," Drew replied quickly. He didn't even think about the words coming out of his mouth anymore, he didn't have the time. "I won't let you."

Damascus, clearly amused, took another step forward and stood immobile once more. He smirked and crossed his arms. It was if this whole thing had just transformed into a game.

Drew didn't know what to do. He had no means of truly protecting May, and just replying on stalling wasn't going to work forever. He had to think of something, and fast. His thoughts stimulated and became scrambled. Drew got nothing but a headache, and instead cleared his mind of everything.

"Now what?" Damascus asked. He looked as though he planned to take another step in the near future.

"A battle." Drew answered. He wasn't even sure what he was even saying anymore.

"Again?" Damascus looked weary, and Drew said nothing.

Drew glanced at his Roselia, who was on the ground covered in wounds. It couldn't possibly battle, but Drew almost wanted to shout an order at it. However, he restrained himself.

After a thought, Damascus smirked and turned to Drew.

"I'll give you a battle," he said slowly. Drew arched an eyebrow and stood his ground not knowing what to expect.

And from there, everything went black.

* * *

Drew's eyes fluttered slowly, his vision blurry. He couldn't hear anything. He winced as he felt a pain in his side, and he looked down to see a pool of blood.

But the blood wasn't his.

His eyes widened and his heart stopped beating. Beside him, looking as if she was asleep, was May, in a bloody mess of herself. Drew tried to move, tried to say something, but he was too horrified to even think.

"Have to… hospital… don't!..."

"Quickly… injured… dying!..."

Drew could only faintly hear the voices, but paid no attention to them. How could he? How could he when the love of his life was right in front of his eyes, dying, and him completely _incapable_ to do anything about it?

_Damn it, how did this happen?_

He was lifted to his feet, but his eyes stayed on May. He felt paralyzed, his mind racing with so many things. He watched May be suspended to the air.

"Hurry!"

Drew's feet fumbled, his emerald eyes nothing but mere dots in terror at the site floating next to him. He felt his body being yanked across the ground.

"Damn it, walk!"

What was happening? Why was she covered in _blood? _How could he have not been able to _protect her?_

… Was she going to die…?

"… Too much blood…"

"… Too late?..."

Drew's scrambled mind was only able to put bits and pieces of what was going on in the outside world together. His mind could only focus on one thing.

He could only think of May.

_Please don't die!_

He felt dizzy and sick as he watched the blood just keep _coming_, just running so _smoothly_ down her face and arms and body and oh _god_ it was _everywhere_, just dripping down onto the ground, the soil soaking it up as if it was something _pleasurable._

_Don't die, damn it!_

His vision was going black again, his ears ringing as his head throbbed in pain. The image of blood splattered over his blank vision, _her_ blood spilling from her over and over again.

_May!_

He barely heard a voice yelling his name before he passed out, red the only color he could see.

* * *

Drew woke up quickly in a cold sweat. He glanced frantically around the room, wincing at the blinding bright lights around him. Where was he? What had happened? He just had the _worst_ nightmare…

"You're awake," a voice spoke quietly.

Drew looked over suddenly, in a panic. He was breathing hard, unsteady breaths. His eyes were full of fear.

"M-Masami?" he chocked. He looked around more slowly, confused and shaken up. "Where… am I?"

"The hospital," she answered, offering a small smile. The smile was forced.

"Is it just you?" he asked, blinking. His memory was foggy. God, he had a _killer_ head ache.

Why was it all he could see was red?

"Katashi's with May," Masami spoke, looking him over. "… You look good. You just needed a few stitches in the side."

Stitches? Was that why his side hurt? And where was May?

"What happened?" Drew asked, groaning from trying to shift his weight a little.

Masami hesitated before speaking. "Well… I don't know the whole story. Katashi and I ran after you and May, and… by the time we got there, you were passed out on the ground, and that Damascus guy, well…" She stopped for a moment, looking down. Her words were heavy and hard to say. "He was… hurting May. Bad. He was reaching inside her, and he… pulled this thing from her, I don't know what it's called, but –"

Drew's eyes widened, sitting up abruptly. "May's hurt?"

"C-calm down," Masami said. "She's, uh… well. I don't remember what Katashi called it, but… I guess she has some sort of power. Her voice is special, or… something. Something to do with awakening legendary Pokemon… It's all a little hazy to me to be honest…"

"Is she okay?" Drew asked hectically, not caring about any words that were coming out Masami's mouth. "Where is she?"

"In the room over," Masami responded. "And she's, well…"

"She's _well what?"_ Drew demanded, his voice rising. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest. He was sweating.

_May, please!_

"… You should be resting," Masami said softly.

Drew growled and swung his feet over his bed, standing up, wobbling in place. Masami stood up.

"W-wait, Drew!"

But Drew didn't listen. He stumbled out of the room, and Masami glanced away. She didn't stop him. She didn't follow him. She didn't have the heart to.

_May…_

* * *

Katashi watched carefully over May. She looked so peaceful in the hospital bed. But Katashi imagined on the inside, she wasn't very peaceful at all. He sighed, leaning back on the wall. The constant beeping of the machine in the room made him both irritated and rather sad.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Katashi looked over, but wasn't surprised to see Drew stumble in.

"M-May!" Drew called.

"I wonder if she can hear you," Katashi muttered quietly.

Drew glanced at him, and then at May. She was hooked up to a bunch of machines and there were wires all over her body and oh god he felt sick again.

"W-what… what _is_ all of this?"

"She's in a coma," Katashi spoke slowly.

Drew's eyes widened, staring at May in disbelief.

"N-no!"

_May! _

"T-that can't be right!"

_Don't leave me!_

"Y-you're _lying!"_

_I love you!_

Katashi sighed, running a hand through his hair. He kept quiet and watched Drew fall to the ground, shaking terribly. He muffled nonsense until Katashi could barely understand anything he was saying.

Drew began to cry. A tear at first, of due shock and disbelief. Then more streamed from his shining eyes, spilling down his face as he broke into a sob, taking May's hand and pressing it tightly to his face, smudging the tears all across his cheeks.

Masami was in the door, watching, her mouth open. Katashi glanced at her and couldn't help but frown a little.

_How could this happen?_

Drew didn't know how long he cried for. He didn't stop as his head throbbed in pain. He didn't stop as his yells began to scrape painfully at the back of his throat. He didn't stop when Masami and Katashi left the room and left him alone.

_You were finally mine!_

May lay still, quiet. Her chest lifted and fell slowly, at a sort of rhythm. Her hand was limp and cold within his.

And they stayed like that for longer than Drew can remember. It was nightfall when he had woken up in the hospital, but the sun splattered onto his face now and he was still choking tears. He was too exhausted to stand, and his face felt dry and sticky. He still held May's hand. He was pathetically hoping for something, _anything._ But as he stared at May's emotionless expression, his heart sank lower and lower within him.

All that could be heard in the room was the consistent beeping from the machine.

The _damn_ machine…

Drew's head was resting against the edge of the bed, and he blinked slowly every once in a while, when his eyes began to get dry and watery and hurt too much to keep open any longer. He held May's hand tighter. He had never felt so desperate before.

So alone…

Drew never heard or spoke to the nurses that came in every once in a while, even when the shook him gently and called softly to him. He just sat there, monotone and weary, shutting the entire world out. The nurses eventually let him be as they would attend to May.

It was nightfall again. Black poured into the room and shadowed Drew's already bleak face. His vision was already fuzzy, so shadows made no difference to him. His hand was aching and sore from being suspended in midair for so long, but he didn't care. He held onto May's hand as if it was the only thread connecting him to everything else in the world.

How many hours had passed?

It was morning. But how many mornings had gone by?

Gold highlighted the creases in his face. Black circles were painted around his eyes. When was the last time he had slept…?

It didn't matter… nothing mattered.

Not when May was like this.

Days, nights, hours, minutes, seconds, and nothing but that damn _beeping_ to keep reminding him that time was still passing, that May _still_ wasn't okay. Drew would occasionally pass out every once in a while, dozing off and coming to on any given hour. His arm was numb. He could barely feel May's hand anymore.

He closed his eyes, and all he could _still_ see was that red… He couldn't think of anything else. Not even if he tried.

And then… something happened. Through the red, white poked its way through, a small dot among the crimson ocean.

His hand twitched, and his eyes slowly opened. White broke through the red, little by little.

His fingers felt warm, regaining feeling, and he glanced up, staring for a moment, his green eyes glazed over.

The white splattered everywhere, soaking up the red like a sponge.

He stood slowly to his feet, not caring that his legs were sore and heavy. He stared at May, his eyes widening. His body began to tremble.

The white shone through, swallowing the red completely. It was so bright and is was so damn _beautiful._

May's lips… her still, pale, chapped, lips… twitched lightly, twisting slowly into the smallest smile Drew had ever seen in his life. He felt his hand be filled with warmth, her fingers wiggling gently within his.

And just like that… all Drew could see was white. And that damn red was gone.

And that gave Drew the strength to smile too.

Roses never died easily, after all.

Not when they had thorns to protect them.

* * *

**A/N: I am still in shock that this is complete. My god. Okay! Sorry if the ending was rushed... that's because it... was. I just needed to finish this! I want to thank everyone for all the wonderful reviews I ever got for this, and a special thanks to those who actually still read this and to those who made it to the end! I would have given up by now, so way to go! Man, I can't believe I had planned to write a sequel for this... well, I hope you liked the ending, though I can understand if you didn't! I wanted to leave it sort of open ended, but also I was just pretty lazy... Anyways, thanks again! Despite my terrible procrastinating, I did enjoy writing this (Oh my god, when did I start this? Seventh, eighth grade? I'm a senior in high school now! Such memories!) Thanks once last time, everyone! I appreciate it!**


	20. Epilogue: Cherry Blossoms

**A/N: Hey! So... I felt a little bad that I left so many questions unanswered in the final chapter, so I thought I'd attempt to give the story more closure with this little epilogue! It's not the greatest thing, but, eh, it's something. Hopefully it'll be a more pleasant ending to those are are still reading :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't know Pokemon. As always.**

* * *

It was spring. Pink splattered onto the world like paint onto a canvas; cherry trees began flooding the streets. The water was clear and blue and beautiful, shining just right under the white morning sun. The wind blew gently, rustling the bear trees with their new green buds.

Drew sat by the water, May by his side. The two were against an old tree, looking out into the sea.

It had been a year since the accident.

Drew glanced sideways at May. Her neck held a white scar; a painful memory from that day. She had had her throat slit for a reason Drew still couldn't seem to grasp.

May was special. Her voice had certain power, they had told them. Damascus had wanted to harness that power to awaken legendary pokémon. The reason, no matter what, had been ridiculous to Drew. No reason would ever suffice hurting May like that.

Masami and Katashi had lost Damascus. They had found it more important to get May and Drew to medical attention than to run after him. Afterwards, though, Katashi had gone after him, eventually hunting him down and bringing him into the light. He was behind bars now, but Drew wished he was dead. He still felt uneasy knowing a man that would hurt his May like that was still breathing; breathing the same air they were.

He hadn't heard much from the two siblings since then; he had seen on the news that Katashi had finally faced court for the murders he had performed, and was able to plead innocent for character. Katashi had only killed in self defense. He had to do some community service, but it was better than jail. Drew imagined Masami was close by him, helping him through it all.

But he was with May now. She was there sitting right next to him, and she was _okay_, and that's all that mattered. Everyone was okay, and Drew could be at peace.

Drew closed his eyes and leaned against the trunk of the tree. May rested her head on his shoulder, and Drew felt her fingers slip through his, their hands intertwining.

He smiled, his eyes closed. He felt so content and satisfied and just so _happy._

And then he knew everything had been worth it.

And then the two fell asleep, pink petals fluttering around them.

* * *

**A/N: Once again I want to just thank all of you for everything :) Every review meant a lot to me!**


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